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AN 



HISTORICSL SKETCH 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE, 



WITH NOTICES OF ITS SETTLERS AND 
EARLY INHABITANTS. 



BV <-' 



GEORGE L. HOSMER. 



BOSTON : 

PRESS OK STANLEY AND USHER, 

171 Devonshire Street. 

1886. 



-f^^^ 



CONTENTS 



Page 

Chapter I 5 

Introduction. — Discovery. — Settlements. — Mills. — Mar- 
riages. 

Chapter II 25 

First Settlers. — The Revolution. — Land-titles. — Incorpora- 
tion. 

Chapter III 41 

Notices of Settlers and Early Inhabitants. — Physicians. — 
Men and Vessels Lost at Sea. — A List of Aged Persons. 

Chapter IV 220 

Municipal and Miscellaneous, 1789-1882. — Ecclesiastical. — 
Origin of the Names of the Different Localities in the Town. 
— Conclusion. 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE 



CHAPTER I. 

Introduction. — Discovery. — Settlements. — Mills. — Marriages. 

For some years past it has been my purpose to write an 
historical sketch of this town, with notices of its settlers 
and early inhabitants. When I came here a young man, 
nearly half a century ago, there were but few of the early 
settlers remaining, the last of whom, Mr. Joseph Sellers, 
died in 1844 at the age of ninety-two years. My informa- 
tion has been derived from those who were contemporary 
with them, and they in their turn have passed away. 
Although the means I have had for such a work were 
scanty, yet it was all. that could be obtained, as I had 
nothing but verbal information : but I may reasonably 
judge that it is in the main correct. I have thought it 
best to preserve it, in order that those who are now 
living, and those who may come hereafter, may have 
some knowledge of the hardships endured by their 
ancestors. The history of the early settlement of any 
country is a history of toil, privations, and suffering, 
and of these the persons noticed here have had their full 
share. It was with them a hard struggle for a subsistence, 
and had it not been for the sea-fowl, sea and shell fish, it 



6 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

could not have been obtained by them, and had those 
means been wanting elsewhere, the seacoast could never 
have been settled where it was in this State. I have 
hopes that what is here written may prove of inter- 
est to the descendants of those whose notices are here 
recorded. It is, or should be, a matter of interest to 
every one, to have some knowledge of the history of his 
native place, or of the town in which he resides. In too 
many cases it is not felt until the sources from which such 
information might have been obtained no longer exist, and 
I wish to improve this opportunity for its preservation, for 
otherwise it will soon have passed from memory and be 
lost beyond recovery. 

DISCOVERY. 

We have no authentic information by whom, and at 
what time, the islands on which this town is situated, were 
discovered. It has been stated that, in 1556, Andre The- 
vit, a Catholic priest, sailed in a French ship along the 
entire coast ; that he entered Penobscot Bay, where he 
spent five days and had numerous conferences with the 
natives. The first Englishman who visited this locality 
was Martin Pring, who sailed from Bristol in 1603, and 
visited Penobscot Bay and islands. Seeing some foxes on 
the shore of one island, he named it Fox Island, and that 
was the name by which those islands, on which the towns 
of North Haven and Vinalhaven are situated, were 
formerly known ; one as the North, and the other as 
the South, Fox Island. He was well pleased with the 
scenery of the bay, with the excellence of the fisheries, 
and with what animals were seen by them. When he 
returned to England, he carried an Indian canoe with 
him, but while here saw but few inhabitants. It is prob- 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 7 

able that he sailed up the bay lying between the towns of 
Deer Isle and Isle au Haut on the one side, and the towns 
of North Haven and Vinalhaven on the other, and from 
its height the Isle au Haut would have been a prominent 
landmark, as it can be seen about thirty-five miles at sea, 
and it is the outermost island of any considerable size in 
this vicinity ; and, if he sailed up the bay, as we have 
supposed, he must have seen Deer Island. We may 
regard him as the first Englishman who saw it, if not the 
first European, for if Thevit had seen the bay and pub- 
lished his discovery, it seems reasonable to us that he 
would have been followed by others of his countrymen 
and possession taken. 

In 1604 Champlain visited this region and is said to 
have landed upon its shores, but there is little informa- 
tion respecting him. In 1605 the bay and islands were 
visited by James Rozier, and it has been stated that he 
sailed up the passage between Deer Isle on the one side^ 
and the towns of Brooklin, Sedgwick, and Brooksville on 
the other, and it is now known as Eggemoggin Reach ; 
and that he anchored near the cape lying at the south- 
western extremity of the town of Brooksville, which bears 
his name. If this account be correct, he must have 
passed very near Deer Island, as the passage is in its 
narrowest part not more than half a mile in width. In 
the same year Weymouth visited the bay and river in June, 
but from the account given us, we believe that he sailed up 
the western side, between the towns of Islesborough and 
Camden, and he anchored opposite the hills now known as 
Camden Hills, where a party went on shore and afterward 
in a pinnace went farther up the bay and visited that part 
which, according to the description given us, must have 
been near where the city of Belfast is now situated. 



8 ^iV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

From the account given us, they appeared to have been as 
well pleased with what they saw, as was Pring two years 
earlier. The intercourse of Weymouth with the natives 
was at first friendly, but, unfortunately for his reputation, 
he kidnapped five of them and carried them to England, 
three of whom he delivered to Sir Ferdinand Georges, 
who kept them in his family three years, and in 1639 
the Province of Maine was chartered to him. 

It is not probable that Weymouth visited that part of 
the bay in which this town is situated, or, if he did, 
nothing is said about it, and as the accounts given of the 
discoveries by those early voyagers are very brief, conjec- 
ture must supply the vacancy ; but we must come to the 
conclusion that, at least, Pring and Rozier must have seen 
Deer Island. In 1614 Captain John Smith, of Virginia, 
visited this region and reported a settlement as having 
been made, but he must have referred to that made by the 
French on the island of Mount Desert, as it is said that 
it was occupied by them as early as 1604. Others came 
there in 1609, and Madame De Guerchville's colony was 
there in [613, a year before Smith visited these regions. 
No English settlement is reported to have been made any- 
where in this vicinity until 1626, under the direction of 
the Plymouth Colony, by Isaac Allerton, on the peninsula 
on which the town of Castine now stands, for the purposes 
of trade, which was continued till 1635, when it was taken 
possession of by the French. It was retaken in 1654 and 
retained till 1670, when it was surrendered to the French, 
and by them retained most of the time until 1704, when 
it was captured by Captain Church of the Plymouth 
Colony ; and no other settlement anywhere in this 
vicinity was made by the English, which was permanent, 
until about the year 1760, which was the date of the 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.lfXE. g 

settlement of Castine. We have no account who gave 
this island its name or when it was given, but it has been 
said that deer were found upon it in abundance, and that 
circumstance caused the name to be given it — which is 
very probable, as those animals could easily visit it in the 
winter by crossing the reach upon the ice ; and that they 
have been known to cross the passage by swimming. 
It has been said that upon one occasion one was seen 
swimming over, by the members of one family, who then 
resided near the shore in the early years of the settlement 
here, and on its landing it was killed by them, which was 
a providential circumstance, as at the time they were 
suffering from hunger. Several have been killed since I 
have resided here, and within twenty years past I saw an 
old one and her young near the highway about half a mile 
from the Northwest Harbor. 

SETTLEMENTS. 

When the first settlers came here, the island was an 
unbroken wilderness. No evidences were found indicat- 
ing that it had ever been occupied by white men, and 
probably but few had ever landed upon its shores. The 
Indians had made some parts of it places of occupancy, 
at certain seasons of the year, for the purpose of obtain- 
ing a supply of food from the clam-flats, and evidences of 
their occupancy were to be found where those shell- 
fish were in great abundance, and the depth of the shells 
in the ground shows that they must have been centuries 
in accumulating, and they also cover, in many places, con- 
siderable space. When the land was plowed, the spots 
occupied by their wigwams were easily discernible, and it 
is probable that the times of their visitation were at such 
times when other food was not so easily obtainable. Occa- 



lO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

sionally skeletons have been found, and at one time two 
were discovered under the roots of a large hard-wood tree ; 
it had grown to a large size and was in a state of decay, 
when it was blown over during a storm. One was that of 
a person of ordinary size, the other of one who was at 
least eight feet in height, and between the ribs of the larger 
one was found the head of a dart made of copper. They 
lay nearly side by side, and had been probably engaged in 
mortal conflict, the larger one mortally wounded by the 
smaller, and the smaller probably fell by the hands of the 
larger. This conflict must have happened a long time 
before discovery, as they must have lain upon the ground, 
and the tree which grew over them must have been a long 
time in attaining its growth. They were found nearly sixty 
years ago, and a medical man then residing in the town 
gathered up the skeleton of the larger one and preserved 
it; upon putting the bones together, he stated that the 
height of the man was what is above stated. 

When the settler came, his first care was to provide a 
shelter for his family. A hut, the sides of which were 
built of logs, and the roof of bark, unless he had boards, 
which he probably had not, as then there were no sawmills 
anywhere in the vicinity ; a wall of stones laid up for a 
fireplace and a hole in the roof to let out the smoke and 
let in the light and air, and the floor, if any it had except 
the ground, was made of small trees sided with an axe. 
The walls were plastered with clay or mud in the spaces 
between the logs, or caulked with moss to keep out the 
cold. His first habitation was near the shore, as it was 
more convenient than farther back from it, as it caused 
less distance for the transportation of the articles of food. 
In the months of May, June, July, and a part of August, 
the bark used for roofing could be peeled from the trees ; 



TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, ALILVE. I i 

at Other times it was fast to them and could not be 
obtained for the purpose. When he had opportunity, a 
house was built of logs of more convenient size, and if 
boards could be had, they could be used for roofs and 
floors. The chimney of rocks was carried farther up and 
topped out with sticks and clay, and a few squares of glass 
might be obtained to admit light into his dwelling ; and 
this second class was a great improvement upon the first. 
In time these kind of houses gave way to framed ones as 
there was opportunity to procure lumber, as sawmills had 
been erected here, and they in their turn were succeeded 
by better ones. In such rude dwellings, as I have in the 
first and second places described, were many of their 
children born and families reared. A very few of the 
second class were standing fifty years ago, but none now 
remain, as boards have taken the place of logs in their 
erection. A large portion of the dwelling-houses that 
were standing when I first came here, are not now, and a 
great improvement in that direction has taken place. We 
who live in dwellings so convenient, roomy, and elegant, 
can hardly conceive, many of us, how they could have lived 
in such places as they did, and on such fare as they had ; but a 
more healthy and robust generation was produced in those 
times, than is now with us. Many of them were remark- 
able for their physical strength and powers of endurance. 
His next task was to clear his land so that crops might 
be raised, and if he arrived in the month of June, it was 
the proper time to fell the trees, as that month is the most 
suitable for the purpose, and a few acres could be cut 
down the first summer, and when the trees were down the 
limbs could be lopped, as it is termed, so that the brush 
could be near the ground. In the first of the fall, when 
dry, fires could be set and the limbs burnt. After that 



12 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

the trunks were cut into pieces of proper length, to be 
moved into piles and burnt. They were set on fire before 
the fall rains came, and about all consumed except the 
stumps, and the next year he was ready to put in his seed 
for such crops as he wished to raise. Usually corn was 
planted at first, as it could be conveniently grown, and in 
fair seasons it grew bountifully, as the land was new and 
the ashes a powerful stimulant. In those days but few 
potatoes were raised, as they were not so highly esteemed 
as at present. If grain were sown it had to be stacked, 
and afterward it was threshed. No gristmills were here, 
until some years after the first settlers came. Corn then 
was the favorite crop, as it could be prepared for food 
by pounding in what was called a samp-mortar, made of 
a hard-wood log, the end of which was hollowed out and 
pounded with a heavy pestle, into the bottom of which 
nails were thickly driven to enable it to break up the corn 
more thoroughly. This was then termed samp, and, 
when prepared for boiling, formed a valuable addition to 
their other food. It was also a favorite article of food with 
the Indians, who raised corn, and thus prepared it, and 
oftentimes cooked it with green beans, which dish was 
called succotash. 

It was a work of years to clear the land for the plow, 
as it took a long time for the stumps to rot so that they 
could be taken out ; but usually when they were dried 
sufBciently, they were set on fire, and the roots, when 
rotten, could be dug up. As soon as fodder could be 
raised, cattle were procured, and a cow was a valuable 
animal to them. Sheep were kept as soon as they could 
be by them, as their wool was necessary for purposes of 
manufacture for clothing, and flax was also raised for the 
same purpose, and the cloth was durable if not fine. The 



TOlViV OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 1 3 

implements used in its manufacture are now nearly obso- 
lete ; the flax-wheel and hand-card are no longer in use, 
and' the spinning-wheel and hand-loom are soon destined 
to follow. 

As years passed along, his circumstances improved ; 
more land was cleared and greater crops raised ; he was 
enabled to increase his stock and, consequently, his means 
of living. In a few years mills were built, and his corn 
and grain ground. Upon every lot of land were logs suit- 
able for lumber which could be drawn out by oxen to the 
shore and towed to the sawmill for manufacture. Cord- 
wood could be sold to be carried to Boston or other places 
in Massachusetts, and the proceeds exchanged for articles 
of necessity. At first, before he was enabled to keep 
oxen, it was cut in places convenient to the landings and 
drawn on hand-sleds. This was a slow and toilsome 
process, but it was better than to waste it by burning 
upon the ground, for the little he was paid for it was a 
help to him. After he could keep a team, he could choj) 
and draw it out in the winter in considerable quantities. 
Although the price was small, sometimes not exceeding 
one dollar per cord for the best hard wood, yet it was 
better than nothing. I recollect hearing an old gentleman 
saying that once he was obliged to sell such wood at the 
small price of fifty cents per cord upon the landing, and at 
the same time cloth then known as India cotton was fifty 
cents a yard. In these times perhaps sixty yards of 
much better cloth might be purchased with the proceeds 
of one cord of such wood. 

In those days there were no roads ; the inhabitants lived 
near the shore, and in order to visit each other, they must 
follow the shore or go in boats. There were footpaths 
through the woods in such places where the shore could 



14 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



not be used as a road, and they were by trees spotted to 
guide the traveler. It was about twenty-six years after 
the town was settled, before it was incorporated, and until 
that time every person, if he needed a road, was obliged 
to make it himself. If a person had a grist to carry to 
mill, if he could not go by water, he was obliged to -carry 
it upon his shoulder. I once heard one who was here 
quite early say that he had at one time three bushels of 
corn, and he was obliged to carry it to the Northwest 
Harbor to mill, which was six miles from his house. He 
put it into two bags and, starting with one, carried it until 
he was tired, laid it down, walked back to the place where 
the other was left, took that up and carried it till he was 
tired, then rested and started with the other : and in that 
way transported his corn to, and his meal from, the mill. 
He was a perfectly reliable man, and I have no doubt of 
the truth of his statement, for he was of large size and 
great strength. These little incidents show us what hard- 
ships were endured by those who were before us. The 
chief article of food upon which they relied at first were 
the clams which were then very abundant in the flats in 
front of the lots occupied by them, and the seacoast of 
New England has abounded with them. It was at times 
the chief reliance of the Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth, 
without which they would doubtless have perished by 
starvation. Although it is not a very nourishing kind of 
food, when confined to, nor so palatable as some other 
kinds, still there was no fear of the supply being exhausted. 
It was considered of so much consequence that in 1641 
the Colony of Massachusetts passed an ordinance that, 
whatever right the owner of land had to the fiats left bare 
at low water in front of his land, he had no exclusive 
right to the shellfish that might be taken from them ; nor 



TOIVjV of dee A' ISLE, MAINE. 15 

had he a right to prevent any one from taking fowl, these 
being considered a right which others had in common with 
the owners of the land, and this is the law of our State. 
It has since been a business of considerable importance, 
the taking of them for bait for the cod-fisheries ; and the 
amount that has been dug from the flats in this town 
within the last fifty years has amounted to many thousand 
barrels, furnishing employment for many, and at this time 
they are put up in cans by the packing companies in their 
factories in the town. 

It needed but little time to enable the settler to procure 
what he needed from day to day, as the supply must be 
taken at the time of their use, for if kept very long they 
became unwholesome. During the months of May, June, 
July, and August they were not so suitable for food as at 
other times, but in the winter and early spring, when the 
ice covered the shores, it had to be cut through to dig 
them, which made the labor severe. The seafish at that 
time were very abundant ; one man could load a small boat 
in one day, at times. Their boats were made of a large 
log of wood hewn into proper shape, and dug out, and were 
termed "log canoes." They have long since gone out of 
use, and their places supplied by boats of a better kind and 
much more convenient. A few of the former kind were 
to be seen sixty years ago, but it is a long time since I 
have seen one. The fish were at that time much nearer 
the shore than at present, and it was but little labor to row 
out where they were and take what was wanted. The 
chief difficulty was in obtaining salt. There was no place 
of trade nearer than Fort Point, which was the only place, 
until the British took possession of Bagaduce in 1779, 
where a market was opened for what they had to sell and 
such goods as they needed could be purchased. Salt was 



1 6 ^-A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

manufactured here by boiling sea-water, of which two per 
cent, only is salt. In order to manufacture it, large kettles 
or iron pans were set by the shore, the water was pumped 
up at high water and led into them by spouts and boiled 
down. The wood used for fuel was conveniently near in 
abundance, but it was a slow process, as about four hun- 
dred gallons of water were necessary to produce one bushel 
of salt weighing sixty pounds — but it was an article they 
must have. One man, Mr. Jonathan Eaton, was for sev- 
eral years engaged in the business, and what he made 
during the summer he carried up to the towns above New- 
buryport, on the Merrimack River, the locality whence he 
came, and sold or exchanged it for produce. The price 
here was never less than one dollar per bushel, and its 
quality was about equal to the Liverpool salt at present. 

Other kinds of fish were taken, the herring in weirs 
made by enclosing the mouth of a creek or cove by brush 
woven between stakes set or driven into the flats above 
low-water mark. The top of the hedge was low enough 
to admit them at high water, but upon the ebb of the tide 
below the top of it they were detained, and were taken 
when the fiats were bare ; they were salted, the larger ones 
in casks, the smaller cured by smoking. In the winter 
the frost fish, as they were termed, were taken in consid- 
erable quantities at the mouths of brooks, and they were 
acceptable, as it was not the season of fresh fish of other 
kinds. The smelts could be taken in considerable quanti- 
ties in the same way in the spring, and when lightly salted 
and cured by drying made a very palatable article of food. 

The other source of supply upon which they relied was 
the seafowl, particularly of the duck kind ; they were 
taken by shooting, netting, and driving. Every one who 
could procure a gun and ammunition did so, as it enabled 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA /.YE. I 7 

him to procure a supply, as they were in the waters sur- 
rounding the island in abundance. The practice of net- 
ting was by setting large nets on the flats, fastened to 
stakes, in such a manner as to float and rise with the tide 
horizontally upon the surface, and when spread cover- 
ing considerable space ; when the fowl swam near the 
shore, as is their practice, and, diving, came up under 
the nets, they became entangled, and could be taken. 
Large quantities were taken in this way, and when dressed 
those not wanted for a present supply were salted for 
future use. The feathers were valuable for beds, and were 
salable, and si.x full-grown ones furnished one pound of 
them. The other method was styled duck-driving, and as 
it has not been practised within the memory of any but 
the very oldest of our inhabitants, it will be proper to give 
a description of the manner in which they were taken. 
For a very few days in the month of August they could not 
fly, as they were then shedding their quills, or larger feathers. 
The time was well known to the inhabitants in the places 
around, in other settlements, and all who could come did so 
from Penobscot River, from Penobscot, and around the bay 
in boats. P'irst a circle of boats was formed so as partially 
to surround them, and boats also were stationed to prevent 
their taking a wrong direction. Duck Harbor, on the 
southwestern part of Isle au I laut, was the place selected to 
drive them into, as it was well suited for the purpose, being 
narrow and extending half a mile or more into the land. 
They were driven, anil as the drive went on, others were 
overtaken, and by the time they reached the place of destina- 
tion a large number were included in the drive, lieginning 
at the upper part of the bay, below I^agle Island, they 
drove several miles down, narrowing the Hock as they went 
along, when thev were driven into the mouth of the harbor 



1 8 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

and up to the head of it, and when the fowls reached the 
shore they were taken and killed, and every one engaged 
could have all he needed. The water, and not the land, 
is their element. They can swim quite rapidly, but when 
on landing they attempted to walk they could easily be 
taken. At one time a very large drive was made, and many, 
attempting to walk over the land from the head of the 
harbor to the southern shore of the island, perished in the 
woods, and their remains were seen for a long time. Such 
wholesale destruction soon had its effect, as they decreased 
or sought other places where they could be free from such 
a molestation. No drive has been made for perhaps 
eighty years or more. My informant, the late Captain 
David Thurlow, a man well known here in his day, was 
present at several of the "drives," and from him I obtained 
the information given above. He died in 1857, at the age 
of eighty-two years, and " drives " were all the rage when he 
was young. From an account given me many years ago, 
I judge that wild fowls, when they escape from danger, 
often shun the place afterward. Among the early years of 
the settlement here the wild geese, going on their flights 
toward the north, frequently halted and landed upon a par- 
ticular part of the island, near what is now called " Dun- 
ham's Point," the locality of the silver mine now being 
operated upon, and they also did so on their return in the 
fall. After it became known persons lay in wait for a 
chance to shoot at them, and after it was done a few times 
they landed no longer there ; and for years after when they 
passed over the spot they would rise higher than usual 
before they reached it, so as to be out of the reach of the 
shot, and after they had passed would go down to their 
usual level. 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 1 9 

MILLS. 

I have no means of ascertaining the date of the erec- 
tion of the first mill here, but I am inclined to think that 
it was by Mr. Nathaniel Kent, of Boston, on the site of the 
mills afterward occupied by Stephen Holt and Richard 
Warren. Messrs. Mark Haskell & Sons also put up a 
saw and grist mill at the Northwest Harbor. They pur- 
chased the land they occupied there in 1772 of Ezekiel 
Marshall, who was here before them ; but they did not 
come until a few years after, and from what information I 
have been able to obtain they did not come till 1778. In 
the notice of them I shall state more fully about them. 
Jonathan Greenlaw, who came as early as 1762 or 1763, 
one of the family of that name who came shortly after, 
and, next to William Eaton, the first settler, gave a deed 
to Kent of a tract of land containing a mile square, in 
consideration of the erection and maintenance of a grist- 
mill. The date of the deed I have never learned, but, if 
it ever was put on record, it must have been done in the 
records of the county of Lincoln, in which county we then 
were, as Hancock County was not incorporated till 1789. 
Greenlaw had, of course, no title to the land he conveyed, 
as the title then was in Massachusetts. The mill was 
afterward occupied by Joseph Tyler, Esq., a native of Ded- 
ham, Massachusetts, who came during the latter part of 
the Revolutionary War. A sawmill was built, whether by 
Kent or Tyler I do not know. It stood for some years, 
occupied by ICsquire Tyler, and manufactured boards and 
other lumber from the logs which were then standing in 
that vicinity. After Tyler moved into another part of the 
town, the place was occupied by Ste])hen Holt, who rebuilt 
the gristmill and run it till 1842. After his removal the 



20 --i-y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

late Hon. Richard Warren built mills there, which were 
destroyed by fire. The "Kent Claim," as it was called, 
was a subject of litigation for several years. It covered 
the land settled by Mr. Joseph Colby, who came here not 
far from 1766, and the lawsuit was prolonged for several 
years in the courts of Lincoln County. jMr. Colby had 
frequently to attend court, and, as the practice was then, 
the jurors were chosen and could serve as often as they 
were returned, and he was, while his case was in court, a 
juryman, as it enabled him to meet his expenses of travel 
to and from the shire-town, which was Pownalborough 
near the town of Dresden near Wiscasset. He at length 
prevailed, and the Kent Claim was reduced to 200 acres, 
the lots occupied by Messrs. Joseph and Belcher Tyler. 
It afterward passed into the ownership of Mr. Nathaniel 
Bishop, of Medford, Massachusetts, and some time not far 
from 1820 he contracted to sell the land to Mr. Stephen 
Holt, of Andover, Massachusetts, who occupied it till 1842, 
when he was ousted by Mr. Bishop for non-payment for the 
land, and it afterward passed into the hands of the late 
Richard Warren. The saw and gristmill at the Northwest 
Harbor stood till about i860. A gristmill was built at the 
reach shore in 1837 by Captain John Torrey which has been 
discontinued some ten years or more, and there is now no 
saw or grist mill in the town ; but one of the latter is 
much needed, for if there were one a considerable amount 
of grain would be raised in the town ; but as it has to be 
carried out of the town to be ground, the farmers have 
nearly discontinued its production. It can be as easily 
raised here as in the towns in the vicinity, and might be 
with profit. Other sawmills were built : one on Thurlow 
Island as early as 1800, or before, by Joseph Colby, Jr., and 
David Thurlow, which manufactured considerable lumber 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2 1 

in its day. It was destroyed by being blown down in a 
violent squall in the early part of the year 1839. Another 
was maintained several years, known as "Crockett's Mill," 
till about thirty years ago. Another was formerly stand- 
ing on Stinson's Neck near the residence of Mr. Josiah C. 
Webb, and another on what was known as the Emersons' 
Mill Pond, not far from the house of Captain Benjamin 
J. Sylvester. It was built not far from the year 1790, and 
went down in 1807. 

The first framed dwelling-house in the town was built 
by Mr. Ezekiel Morey, who came in 1767. I made inqui- 
ries of the oldest people, and they all stated that it was 
standing when they could first remember. The eldest son 
of the builder, Mr. Elias Morey, who was born in 1761, 
informed me that he was ten years of age when it was 
built. That would fix the date at 177 1. It was standing 
less than twenty years ago on the spot at present occupied 
by the house of Mr. James Jordan, and was known as the 
Hallet house. The next now standing is the ell part of 
the house formerly occupied by the late Joseph Raynes, 
which was put up prior to 1790. It has been repaired 
within a few years. The next is the house built and occu- 
pied by the late Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and is still in a 
good state of preservation. It was built some time about 
the years 1793 or 1794, and is now owned and occupied 
by his granddaughter, Mrs. Rebecca Haskell. The houses 
occupied by Mr. Levi Greenlaw and the late Mr. Nathan 
Eaton arc the ne.xt oldest. 

M.\KRI.\GES. 

The marriages solemnized between the parties residing 
in the place must have been at the fort, on what is now 
known as Fort Point, by the chaplain of the garrison, Dr. 



2 2 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

William Crawford, until the residence of a minister of the 
gospel here in 1773. He was the nearest person by whom 
the ceremony could be performed, and is said to have been 
the first one who married couples according to Protestant 
forms on Penobscot River. The fort was named Fort 
Pownal, and was built in 1759. He was a surgeon as well 
as chaplain, and served in both capacities under General 
Wolfe at Quebec. It was some ten years after the settle- 
ment was commenced here till the establishment of a 
church and the employment of a minister, and during the 
occupation of Bagaduce by the British those intending 
marriage from this place went there for the purpose, as 
there was a chaplain there. At that time there were no 
justices of the peace here, for there was no authority to 
appoint them, as Massachusetts had no governor during 
the war of the Revolution. Afterward the war appoint- 
ments were made, and the first ones here were Messrs. 
Joseph Tyler, Thomas Stinson, and Ignatius Haskell, 
Esquires. 

The first child born of white parents here was Mr. 
Timothy Billings, in May, 1764. He was born near the 
shore, on the lot formerly owned by the late Captain 
Jonathan Torrey, and by his descendants at the present 
time. His father removed here in 1763, but did not remain 
long. It has been claimed by some that Mr. John Closson 
was the first, but it is a mistake. His mother, prior to his 
birth, went over to the other side of the Reach, and he was 
born in what is now the town of Sedgwick, March 5, 1764. 
The first child born at the Northwest Harbor, according 
to the best information I have, was Joseph Eaton, who set- 
tled in Sedgwick, and died there. He was the son of Mr. 
Jonathan Eaton, and was born in the latter part of the 
year 1767. Near the Southeast Harbor Mr. Thomas 



TOirX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 23 

Colby was the first white child born, in April, 1768, and at 
the Southwest Harbor Thomas Small was born about the 
same time. 

It is worthy of note that the first children born of Eng- 
lish parents in this and the two nearest towns as originally 
incorporated lived to a great age. Mr. Billings died in 
1854, aged ninety; Mr. Reuben Gray, born in Penobscot, 
in the present town of Castine, near the place now occu- 
pied by the stores in that place, in May, 1763, died in 
1859, aged ninety-si.\ ; and Elizabeth Black, born in that 
part of Sedgwick now Brooklin, about 1760, died at the 
age of nearly one hundred years, and at the time of her 
death she was Mrs. Frcethy. 

In another part of this work will be found a record of 
all the persons who have lived to the age of ninety years 
and upward, since I came here, in 1835. The oldest died 
in 1879, aged ninety-seven, and there is evidence that only 
one other person arrived to so great an age before 1835 — 
Mrs. Colby, the wife of Mr. Joseph Colby, in 1833. She 
will be further noticed, as she carried the news of the sur- 
render of Lord Cornwallis to Bagaduce, which was the 
first information the officers of the army stationed there 
had of the event. 

PVom what has been written we can have some idea of 
the condition of those who first came here, and it required 
courage to face what they did, and resolution to go through 
it. We who talk of poverty now should compare our sur- 
roundings with theirs. The poorest among us at this day 
have means to procure what to them would have been 
luxuries. Their food at best was coarse and often scanty, 
their clothing would now be considered insufficient to pro- 
tect the wearer from the cold. We little consider that we 
arc enjoying the fruits of their labors, for their hands 



24 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



cleared the fields we cultivate, and the foundation of our 
privileges v^ras laid by them. We can show them no grat- 
itude, but we can respect their memories. The worth of 
too many is not appreciated until they are gone. There 
are many things in life which can not be understood unless 
they come within our experience, and if understood at all 
are but imperfectly. This makes it difficult for one who 
lives in other times to correctly write the histories of the 
past. 

I come now to the period of the Revolution, and in 
another chapter will give the names of such male inhab- 
itants as were here, according to the best information I 
have been able to acquire. It will be a list of such as were 
at that time twenty years of age, or nearly, and upward, 
and the date of their coming, as near as I am able from 
what information I have acquired. 



TOIVJV OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 25 



CHAPTER II. 

F"iRST SKrri.EKS. — The Revolution. — Land-itti.es. — lNCORPOR,\riON. 

TMI'^ year 1775 brought the Revolution, and found 
the Island with a number of settlers. The first 
permanent settlement was made in 1762 by William 
Eaton, although he was not the first who began one. 
In my notice of them I shall more fully treat upon those 
matters. The list of such persons as are referred to in 
the close of the former chapter is as follows : — 

William Eaton, came in 1762. Robert Nason. 
Jonathan Greenlaw, about the same Ezekiel Morey, 1767. 

time or a little later. John Hooper, 1767. 

Charles Greenlaw. John Pressey, 1765. 

Ale.xander Greenlaw. John Pressey, Jr., 1765. 

Ebenezer Greenlaw. Chase Pressey, 1765. 

William Greenlaw. Lot Curtis. 

John Billings, 1763. Zebulon Tuttle. 

Nathan Closson, 1763. Thomas Saunders, 177 1. 

Thomas Thompson, 1765. Jonathan Eaton, 1767. 

Robert Linn, 1765. Elijah Dunham, 1766. 

Jonathan Torrey, 1763 or '64. Elijah Dunham, Jr., 1766. 

David Torrey, 1763 or '64. Joseph Dunham, 1766. 

Joshua Staples, 1764. Samuel Trundy, 1765. 

Moses Staples, 1764. John Raynes, 1772. 

Thomas Stinson, 1765. John Raynes, Jr., 1772. 

Peter Hardy, Sr., uncertain. Samuel Raynes. 

Jeremiah Eaton, son of Wm., 1762. James Raynes. 

Eliakim Eaton, son of Wm., 1762. Thomas Small, 1767. 

Wm. Eaton, Jr., .son of Wm., 1762. Job Small, 1768. 

Nathan Dow, 1767. Charles Sellers, 1772. 

John Dow. 1767. Joseph Sellers, 1772. 



26 '4X HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Theophilus Eaton. 176S. Thomas Robbins, 1775. 

Levi Carman, 1768. William Babbidge, 1766. 

Mark Haskell, Sr. Joseph Colby, 1766 or '67. 

Francis Haskell, 1770. 1 John Freeze. 

Jonathan Haskell, 1770. Courtney Babbidge, Sr., 1773. 

Abijah Haskell, 1770. Samuel Webb. 

Ezekiel Marshall, 1768. Josiah Crockett, 1768. 

Ephraim Marshall, 1768. William Richards. 

Ezra Howard, date uncertain. Thomas Stinson, Jr., 1765. 

John Howard, his son. George Freeze, 1764. 

Ambrose Colby. Benjamin Weed. 

Nathaniel Bray, Sr. Joseph Whitmore. 

Benjamin Cole, Sr. Seth Webb. 

— Sixty-nine in all. 

Most of the persons above named were friendly to the 
American cause, but a few were loyalists, or, as they were 
then termed, "Tories." Three from this place entered 
the army, for which they obtained a pension under the 
first act providing one for the soldiers of the Revolutionary 
army. Their names were Joseph Whitmore, Samuel Stin- 
son, and Courtney Babbidge, Jr. Mr. Whitmore died in 
1 841, aged eighty-six; Mr. Stinson in 1847, aged eighty- 
eight, and Mr. Babbidge not far from the year 1833, in the 
town of Vinal Haven, over seventy years of age. After the 
war, Mr. Solomon Barbour, Mr. George Gross, and Mr. 
James Gibson moved here, where they remained till their 
deaths ; and later, two others came, Mr. John Harvey, who 
died in 1837, aged eighty-six, and Mr. Judah Coville, who 
died in 1843, aged eighty-nine years. Mr. Barbour lived, 
while he resided here, upon what has been known as the 
" Barbour Farm," owned by Ignatius Haskell, Esq., a part 
of which has since been owned and occupied by Mr. 
Edwin P. Cole. In 1784 came Mr. Micajah Lunt from 
Newburyport, who was in the naval service ; he died in 
1827 or 1828, and I believe Mr. Barbour died not far from 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 27 

that time. The wives of all, except Mrs. Harvey, survived 
their husbands, and some received pensions. Only one 
person, of whom I have had knowled^i;e, ever resided here, 
who was in what is known as the " Old French War." 
Mr. Benjamin Weed was among the first who came, 
and he was engaged in the siege of Louisburg, on the 
Island of Cape Breton, the second time an expedition was 
fitted out from New England to take it from the French. 
It was not far from the time that Quebec was taken. 

In 1779 the British took possession of the peninsula of 
Bagaduce, on which the village of Castine now stands, and 
commenced the erection of a fort. All the inhabitants 
within their reach were required to perform labor upon it 
for a certain number of days, which number I never 
heard, nor did I ever hear that any compensation was 
paid for it. It was called "working out their tour." In 
my younger days I u.sed frequently to hear it spoken of 
by those who were contemporaries with those of that day. 
It was not safe for any one to refuse, unless a reasonable 
excuse could be made. The work was hurried on, as the 
Americans fitted out an expedition for the purpose of re- 
taking it, the fleet composing it arriving in about five 
weeks after possession was taken, which was in the month 
of June. It failed of its object, but it is not within the 
scope of this work to give the reasons of its failure or a 
history of the expedition. Any one who wishes, may read 
the History of Castine, by Dr. Wheeler, which gives an 
account, at considerable length. They also required the 
inhabitants of the settlements around them, and those on 
the Penobscot River, to take an oath of allegiance or of 
neutrality. In most cases this was compulsory, and it 
might be by some regarded as not morally binding. It 
was not safe for any to refuse this oath, as it would be 



28 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

likely to render the person refusing an object of suspicion, 
if not of persecution or arrest. There were some in other 
settlements who, rather than take it, abandoned their 
homes and moved away, some of whom returned after the 
peace, as did William Eaton, the first permanent settler 
here ; but that was not always so easy to do, for all the 
settlers had was here, and they did, no doubt, the best 
thing they could under the circumstances. One man 
named Page, who lived in what is now the town of Brewer, 
was notified to come and take the oath. He refused, and 
sent an answer to their summons accordingly, and word 
was sent him that if he did not come a file of soldiers 
would be sent to burn his house. To this he replied : 
" Come on, for I have two loaded guns in my house, and 
two at least who come will never go back again." He 
was not molested. 

Those persons who were loyalists paid frequent visits to 
Castine and were suspected of giving information relative 
to the other settlers, who might be considered friendly to 
the American cause, who felt the need of exercising great 
caution in all their conduct. To be an object of suspicion 
was too often a cause for arrest, and when arrested, might 
be subjected to the cruel punishments that were inflicted ; 
although they were assured by the olificers, if they gave 
no cause for suspicion, they would not be molested. I do 
not remember of hearing of any person in this place being 
arrested, but some were in other places and suffered most 
severely by whipping. One was a Mr. Williams, of Isles- 
borough ; another, Mr. Nathaniel Carson, who lived on 
Cape Rozier. Mr. Jonathan Eaton, of Sedgwick, a son 
of Mr. Theophilus Eaton, of this place, was informed 
against by a Tory and was arrested by a file of soldiers in 
the evening, who were guided by the one who gave the 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 29 

information. They started to carry him to Castine, and 
on their way the road led near the top of a high bank by 
the shore, which was thickly covered with trees, and on 
their arrival there, he, being a powerful man, shook off 
those who were on each side of him, jumped down the 
bank and in the darkness escaped. In a few minutes he 
returned to his house, took a few things, and, starting, 
went to Isle au Haut, which was then a wilderness, 
and remained there all the season, not returning until 
the danger was over. 

Such punishments as were inflicted might well have 
been dreaded. The prisoner was tied up and lashes laid 
upon his bare back, sometimes by hundreds, with a whip 
styled a " cat-o'-nine-tails," which had nine lashes and in 
each lash nine knots. When inflicted in the open air, the 
screams of the victims might, in calm weather, be heard 
a long distance, for their sufferings were terrible ; often a 
bullet or something like it was put into their mouths to 
prevent them from chewing their tongues in their agony. 
A surgeon stood by when such severe punishments were 
inflicted, to pronounce when it was unsafe to carry it any 
further ; and, if the whole number had not been laid on, 
he must, after his wounds were healed, receive the 
remainder. We now would not suffer such cruel punish- 
ments to be inflicted, but that was the manner in which 
their soldiers were punished for some offences, and such 
was what Williams and Carson endured. It would have 
been more merciful to have shot them at once, for their 
pain would have been short. At most, it would have been 
murder, but such whippings were worse than murder. 
The subjects of such punishments ever after felt the con- 
sequences ; the sense of manhood was crushed out of 
them, and they became dispirited and morose. 



30 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

I recollect, some twenty-five years ago or more, making 
the acquaintance of an old gentleman who then resided on 
the coast of York County near Wood Island, who had 
served many years in the capacity of sailmaker in the 
British navy. He was on board the NortJmmbcrlaiid, the 
ship which conveyed Napoleon to St. Helena, and he gave 
me a description of his personal appearance, which corre- 
sponded with what has been written concerning it. He 
was the coxswain of the barge which carried him from the 
ship to the shore. I asked him concerning the punish- 
ments by whipping, which were said to have been practised 
then on board their ships-of-war, and how was it possible 
that any one could come out of them in some cases alive. 
He informed me that he once witnessed a punishment of 
five hundred lashes, inflicted for desertion, which was a 
crime most severely punished. The prisoner was sen- 
tenced to be flogged "through the fleet," and the manner 
of its infliction was thus : A large boat was used upon 
which a platform was laid, and the frame raised to which 
the prisoner was lashed. The number of lashes was 
divided by the number of ships in the fleet that were 
there at the time, and he was rowed from ship to ship and 
the boatswain's mate of each administered its quota of 
lashes. He also informed me that when any one on board 
was to be whipped, the sailors supplied him with brandy 
in abundance, with which gunpowder was mixed, so that 
when the time arrived for the punishment, he was so far 
intoxicated as to be hardly able to stand, and the opera- 
tion of what was administered to him enabled him to go 
through with it with comparatively little pain to what it 
would have been had he been sober. What has been 
written above may be deemed a digression, but may well 
be worth remembering, and it shows us what those who 
were here had to fear if they were subjects of arrest. 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIAE. 31 

In 1 78 1 CornwalHs surrendered, which virtually ended 
the war, and the news of his surrender was carried to 
Castine by a lady of this place, the wife of Mr. Joseph 
Colby, to whom allusion has been made. A neighbor of 
hers, Mr. Seth Webb, who had settled on Kimball's Island 
in the present town of Isle au Haut, and who also had 
a residence here a part of the time, sometimes his 
family being at one and sometimes at the other place, 
happened to be at Isle au Haut when an American vessel 
anchored in the harbor, the captain of which had a number 
of handbills which were printed for distribution, which 
announced the event in its details, one of which he gave 
him and he gave it to Mrs. Colby. The inhabitants here 
then were in the practice of going to Castine to trade, as 
while the British were there it became a place of consider- 
able importance, and the merchants there had, for those 
times, trade to a considerable amount. Happening to go 
the ne.xt day, she carried the handbill with her, starting 
in the night, as the weather was favorable, with her two 
sons to row her up in a boat so as to enable her to reach 
that place early in the day, the distance from her residence 
by water being about twenty-five miles. Upon her land- 
ing, she was very politely accosted by an officer with : 
" Well, madam, what news this morning ^ " Her reply was : 
" Not much, only there is a rumor that my Lord Cornwal- 
Hs has surrendered." He instantly checked her, saying, 
" It will not do to bring such news here." Asking her 
for her authority, she instantly drew out her paper, handed 
it to him ; after reading it, he requested her to loan it 
to him for an hour, promising to return it ; and soon a 
messenger was sent to request the lady who brought it to 
go with him before the officers who, after they had read, 
said : " We fear the news is too true." 



32 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

One great cause of annoyance was the practice that 
there was of plundering the inhabitants on the seacoast in 
this vicinity, by persons who went about for that purpose 
in boats which were then styled "shaving-mills." They 
committed their depredations in places where they were 
not known. They would land upon the shore, visit the 
houses of the inhabitants, and steal whatever they could 
lay their hands on, which was a cause of distress to the 
persons plundered, as they had but little and that little 
they wanted themselves. It was useless to make any 
complaint, as there was then no redress to be had. The 
British, it is true, held possession here, but it was military 
possession. If any one in their service committed such 
acts, he was severely punished by whipping, upon proof 
sufficient to procure conviction, for to their honor it must 
be said that their officers strictly prohibited plunder of the 
inhabitants, and any one who was detected well knew 
what were the consequences. It was done by lawless 
persons from other places. I recollect hearing an old 
gentleman, who, during that period, was a child, say that 
upon one time such a boat landed near the house of 
his father, and upon the entering of the house by the 
persons who came in it, they saw his father's gun standing 
near the fireplace, which they took and carried away. His 
mother was alone in the house, with the exception of her 
little children. Upon his father's return, when he found 
his gun was gone, he was enraged, saying that he had 
rather parted with a cow, as a gun was necessary for the 
procuring a living by shooting fowl and game. The prac- 
tice was not confined to the seacoast, for I heard another 
old gentleman say that during the war his father was 
visited by such people led by a Tory in the vicinity, who 
took his oxen from him and drove them away, and the next 



TOirX OF DEER fS/.E, M.i/A'E. -> -> 

spring he had to dig up his ground with his hoe to put in 
the seed. This took place in what is now Brooksville, near 
Walker's Pond. 

In 1783 peace was proclaimed, and the l^ritish troops 
abandoned Castine, and those who were loyalists here went 
with them. They left behind the fruits of twenty years' 
toil, which to them was labor lost. Only two, the sons of 
one of them, returned, who remained here till death. 
They doubtless feared that the results of the prejudice 
existing against them here might be to their annoyance if 
not to their injury ; but perhaps had they remained and 
accepted the situation under the new order of things, it 
would have gradually worn away. In a few years they 
would have acquired a title to their lands, which were as 
valuable for farming purposes as any in the town. Many 
other Tories from other parts of the country abandoned 
their estates and went into the Provinces. Their posses- 
sions, in some cases large, were confiscated, and they lost 
all. They were then styled refugees, and many of the 
present inhabitants of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia 
are their descendants. They were rewarded for their loy- 
alty by grants of land, but it was in the wilderness of New 
Brunswick and among the rocks of Nova Scotia. They 
carried with them an intense hatred of the government 
here, which has in some degree been transmitted to their 
posterity. During the war for the suppression of the great 
rebellion there was no place where more sympathy for the 
South was manifested, and in some places and at sonie 
times it was not safe for any one to avow Union senti- 
ments. 

I have sometimes thought that sufficient charity was not 
exercised toward the Tories, for there can be no doubt as to 
their sincerity, and we must consiiler that there are always 



34 ^'^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

two sides to a question. Loyalty was to them a sacred 
principle — one in which they had been early educated, and 
it grew up with them. The injunction of St. Peter, to 
" honor the king," coupled as it is with that to "fear God," 
had to them great significance, for if the one was binding, 
as we must all admit, why was not the other .'* We can afford 
to be charitable and just in the matter, even if we do not 
indorse their principles, for there was another light in 
which it might have been viewed, and it is entitled to con- 
sideration. The British government had, within the mem- 
ory of the oldest among them, crushed out two rebellions 
with great severity, and when the Revolution commenced 
they might well consider that there was no reasonable 
prospect of its success. In their opinion it was a contest 
between weakness and power, and in the event of its failure 
they would have been on the safe side, and what could 
those on the other hope for .-* Had it failed, could we have 
reasonably expected that such men as John Hancock and 
Samuel Adams would have been permitted to die in their 
beds, should the British government have obtained pos- 
session of them .'' Although there were acts of violence 
between the Whigs and Tories in other places, I never 
learned of any here, for there was too great a dispropor- 
tion between them ; for the Tories were but few in com- 
parison to their opponents, and all they could do w^as to 
carry information to the ofificers at Castine ; and the 
others were kept in awe in consequence of the fears enter- 
tained of the troops there, who would speedily retaliate, if 
any injury were inflicted upon their loyal friends. Only 
one act of injury ever came to my knowledge, which was 
that of the crew of an American privateer upon one of the 
Tories here, a member of that family which moved away 
at the close of the war, who was either carried or enticed 



TOW?/ OF DEER /S/.E, MAIXE. 35 

on board of the vessel, while she la}- at anchor not far 
from his place of residence. He was forced to go into the 
main-top, where he was fired at with the intention not to 
kill, but to see how near the bullets could go and not hit 
him. His terror while it was being- done was so great as 
to cause insanity. It was an act of cruelty and cowardice. 

LAND-TITLES. 

When the settlers first came here it was not altogether 
certain to whom the territory belonged. The first grant 
made of it was by James I, as it was included within 
its description. It was in 1620, to the Plymouth Com- 
pany in England, and that embraced all between the 
40th and 48th parallels of latitude. Afterward the Earl 
of Sterling had a grant of all the State as far west as Pem- 
aquid, now in the town of Bristol. It was surrendered in 
1686 to the Province of Massachusetts, and in a few years 
after conferred to her. In 1783, some twenty years after 
settlements were begun here, it was secured to her by the 
treaty of that year, and that fully established the owner- 
ship. Not far from the year 1788 the General Court of 
Massachusetts passed a resolve granting one hundred 
acres of land to each of the persons who had settled on 
Deer Island and Sheep, now Jordan's, Island, previous to 
the first day of January, 1784; and Messrs. Joseph Tyler 
and George Tyler, Esquires, were appointed a committee to 
cause said lots of land to be surveyed and allotted to the 
several persons entitled to receive them, and were em- 
powered to give deeds of the same, which lots were to 
include the improvements made by each settler, and the 
sum of thirty shillings was required to be paid by each to 
defray the e.xpense of the survey ; and those persons who 
had purchased the right of such as would have been 



36 ^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

entitled to said lots were included in the allotments. The 
deeds of the Messrs. Tyler that I have seen bear date 
January i, 1789. The survey was made by William 
Tupper, and the lots were laid out large, actually contain- 
ing more than one hundred acres each. Most of the 
persons named in the list before made received their 
allotments, excepting some who had sold their rights, and 
their assigns received them, and some others who had 
moved in since 1775, and others who had become of age 
and taken up lots. Those persons who were above 
described were styled "proprietors," and in speaking of 
them it will be meant them and their assigns. Another 
class who had lands allotted to them, who had settled after 
the first day of January, 1784, and before a certain date, 
were called "young settlers," and had one hundred acres 
each upon the payment of one dollar per acre. The 
Messrs. Tyler obtained a grant of the remainder of the 
island, which gave great dissatisfaction, as the settlers had 
had a meeting and chose a committee to go to the General 
Court at Boston for the purpose of purchasing the land 
remaining, after the settlers' lots had been set off ; the 
committee appointed were Messrs. Joseph Tyler and 
Thomas Thompson. They being unable to attend, Messrs. 
George Tyler and Levi Carman were appointed in their 
stead, but the latter, being at the time master of a vessel, 
was also unable to attend, and he committed the business 
to George Tyler, Esq., who, instead of acting for the set- 
tlers, obtained a grant in the name of himself and his 
brother, as above stated. The price was small for the 
quantity of land, which price I am unable now to ascertain 
without some trouble ; but they failed to pay according to 
the contract in the grant, and the proprietors afterward 
purchased it. They caused a survey of the most valuable 



TOW A' OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 37 

lots and sold them ; the balance, amounting to thirty-four 
acres for each proprietor, was afterward surveyed in lots of 
nineteen and fifteen acres, and each one drew one of each 
quantity. The first survey of proprietors' lands was made 
by Mr. William Young, not long after the year 1800, and 
the second by a surveyor named Flye in about 181 5 ; but 
previous to this, in 1798, a survey of the settlers' lots was 
made the second time by Mr. John Peters, Jr., of Bluehill, 
who cut down each settler's lot to one hundred acres 
exactly, which was a deduction from the amount allotted 
in the survey made by Tupper, by order of the Messrs. 
Tyler, as a committee, as named before. In the grant to 
the Tylers the " Kent Claim "was made valid, but before 
the proprietors obtained theirs, the case of Kent vs. Colby 
had been decided in favor of Mr. Colby, the defendant. 

INCORPORATION. 

In January, 1789, the town was incorporated, and the 
act of incorporation included " Great Deer Island, Little 
Deer Island, Isle au Haut, and Sheep Island," but between 
Great Deer Island and Isle au Haut were several islands, 
some of which had been settled prior to that time. Mer- 
chant's Island had been settled in 1772 by Mr. Anthony 
Merchant, who came from York in the State of Maine, 
then Massachusetts ; Kimball's Island was settled as early 
as the Revolutionary War by Mr. Seth Webb, whom we 
shall notice ; but Isle au Haut was not settled till 1792 by 
Mr. Peletiah Barter, who came from Ba.xter's Island in the 
present town of Boothlxiy ; Wreck Island was occupied i)y 
Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr., and Thurlow's Island by Mr. David 
Thurlow prior to 1800. The inhabitants of all lying 
between Deer Island and Isle au Haut had all the privi- 
leges of citizens liere : their schools were maintained by 



38 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

the town and were considered as gaining a legal settle- 
ment in the town after five years' residence, and such 
persons as fell into distress in other towns, by residence 
upon those islands were considered as chargeable to this 
town, and no question was ever raised, notwithstanding 
they were not included in the act of incorporation, until 
after the late war, when the burdens of taxation were 
heavy, in consequence of the large expense incurred. 
They then, after substitutes had been put into the army 
and the quota of men furnished by the town for their 
benefit as well as that of others, attempted to resist the 
payment of their share of taxes on the ground of not 
being included in the act of incorporation, when the 
amount paid by them for war purposes was small in pro- 
portion to their numbers in comparison with that paid by 
the town at large ; and none of them ever entered into 
the service of the United States, which they would have 
been obliged to do, if drafted, as they would have received 
no town bounty, which was not less than one hundred 
dollars, — and at the last call for troops in 1864, it was 
three hundred, — had they not been considered as belong- 
ing in the town. 

In order to prevent any litigation, the selectmen drew 
up a petition to the Legislature, and it was acted upon in 
1868, and the territorial limits of the town were estab- 
lished, embracing those islands and legalizing the assess- 
ment and collection of all taxes otherwise legally assessed 
upon their inhabitants. The limits of the town as then 
established were as follows : " Beginning at the middle of 
the Reach opposite the northwestern end of Little Deer 
Island ; thence southeasterly by the middle of said passage 
to the southeastern end of same, including Conary's, 
York's, or White, Islands, and Gibson's Island ; thence 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, M.l/.VE. 39 

southwesterly SO as to include Great Spoon Island ; thence 
to the southwestern extremity of Isle au Haut ; thence up 
the Ship Channel northerly to the western end of Great 
Deer Island, and thence northerly to the place begun at, 
excluding Pickering's, Eaton's, and Pumpkin Islands." 
In 1874 the town of Isle au Haut was incorporated, 
which included all islands within the above limits with 
Merchant's and all islands lying southerly of it. 

The grant to the settlers provided that four hundred 
acres of land should be reserved for ministerial, and the 
same quantity for school, purposes ; and when the proprie- 
tors had their survey made by John Peters, Jr., the "par- 
sonage lot," so called, was set off in one body near the 
Northwest Harbor, of which the first settled minister was 
to have one hundred ; and the lands allotted for the use of 
schools were in separate lots in different places. The first 
census taken after incorporation in 1790 found the town 
containing 682 inhabitants ; the numbers for 1800, 1810, 
and 1820, I have never seen ; in 1830 there were 2,217 '■> •" 
1840, 2,841; in 1850, 3,037; in i860, 3,592; in 1870, 
3,414; and the number for 1880, 3,268, besides Isle au 
Haut, 270. I have, in what has been written, given some 
idea of what was the condition of the settlers here up to 
1789. With them things had improved from 1762 till that 
time, and they have been going on in that direction since, 
and in no other jjarticular so great as in the means of 
transportation and communication ; for, instead of the slow 
sailing-vessels of those times, which sailed occasionally 
from here, we now have some five or si.\ steamers touch- 
ing here at least twice each week on their passages each 
way. One can start at noon on one day and be in Boston 
the next morning, while under the state of things since 
my remembrance, it was sometimes a passage of ten days 



40 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



in a "wood coaster." We can now send by mail for two 
cents what in former days cost twenty-five, and in ten 
days, or less, it can be carried from Maine to California ; 
and we now have the telegraph here. Although the 
improvement has been so great in almost ever}'thing, still 
we perhaps do not enjoy life better than they did. An 
increase of means brings with it one of wants, and as our 
incomes increase so do our expenses. 



TOIV.V OF DEEK ISLE, M.ILVE. 41 



CHAPTER III. 

Notices ok Skttlf.rs and Early Inhahitants. 

MICHAEL CARNEY. He was said to have been 
the first white man who attempted a settlement in 
the town. He was a native of Ireland, and was here as 
early as 1762 at least. He made his settlement on what is 
now the farm of George C. Hardy, on the northern shore 
of the island ; the place where his habitation stood is 
still known, and it was shown me by Mr. Hardy a few 
years ago. How long he remained here is not known, as 
very few seem to have heard anything about him, and 
what little is known is through tradition. How long he 
came before Mr. William Eaton is not known, but in all 
probability it was not long, perhaps the same year. He 
moved from the place of his settlement to an island lying 
between Great and Little Deer Islands, which to this day 
bears his name ; and from that place he removed, and all 
traces of him have been lost. Whether he had a family 
or not is not known. 

William Eaton was the first man who made a perma- 
nent settlement here, and it was said to be in 1762. I 
have judged that his native place might have been Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, or that vicinity, as he was a cousin 
to Theophilus and Jonathan Eaton, who were born there, 
and he was about the age of the first named. He was 
married in York, Maine, to a member of the family of Mr. 
Eliakim Wardwcll, of that place, in 1742. I have been 



42 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

told that her maiden name was Ruth, but the records 
of that town show that the marriage was between Mr. 
William Eaton and Miss Meribah Wardwell. There is a 
tradition that before her birth her mother was taken cap- 
tive by the Indians, and while in captivity she was com- 
pelled to become the wife of one of the chiefs, and that 
Mrs. Eaton was the fruit of their union. Some of her 
descendants seem to show the probability of such an 
origin. Her. husband was described to me by one of his 
granddaughters as a man of a light complexion. My 
informant was born in 1776, and well remembered him. 
On the return of peace between the tribe by which she 
was held in captivity and the white people, Mrs. Wardwell 
was delivered up to her husband with her child. She 
afterward had children, the youngest of whom, Mr. Daniel 
Wardwell, settled in the town of Penobscot, where he died 
in 1803. He was the father of Colonel Jeremiah Ward- 
well, a man of note there, who died in 1825. A sister of 
Mrs. Eaton was the mother of Captain Joseph Perkins, 
one of the settlers in Castine, and he was there in 1779, 
when the British took possession of the place. He was 
one of the most prominent men of that town till his death 
in 18 1 8, and was, with Colonel Wardwell, one of the first 
board of selectmen in the town of Penobscot, in 1787. 
The father of Eliakim Wardwell was Mr. Samuel Ward- 
well, who suffered death during the delusion of witchcraft, 
and was a resident of Andover, Massachusetts. His 
father was the first of the family who came from England, 
and his name was Thomas Wardwell. Mr. Eaton, or, 
as he was called, Major Eaton, settled on what is now the 
Scott farm, near the steamboat landing. He resided 
there several years, when he sold out his possession to Mr. 
Nathaniel Scott, of what was then the town of Ward, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 43 

now Auburn, in the county of Worcester, Massachusetts. 
He was the ancestor of all of that name here. His son, 
Mr. John Scott, occupied the farm after him. A daughter, 
Martha Scott, was the wife of Mr. Asa Green, who came 
here from Worcester County, who will be noticed here- 
after. 

After the sale of his right to Mr. Scott, Major Eaton 
moved to Little Deer Island, where he occupied the farm 
that was owned by Mr. Peter Hardy, Jr., at the time of his 
death in 1859. What time he moved there, I never knew, 
nor do I know the time of his death. His farm there, 
after his death, passed into the possession of Mr. Benja- 
min Weed, his son-in-law. Major Eaton left four sons and 
two daughters : one, Eliakim, settled on Little Deer Island 
and died there ; Jeremiah, who settled on the farm since 
owned and occupied by the late Captain Amos Howard 
and now by his widow ; William, who settled on the lot 
now owned and occupied by Mr. William E. Powers and 
Mr. Erancis M. Holden : he died not far from the year 
1841 ; and Samuel, whose descendants live in the town of 
Brooklin. His daughters were the wives of Mr. Jonathan 
Torrey and 'Mr. Benjamin Weed. 

Greenlaw. — The next persons who came were five by 
the name of Greenlaw. They settled on Campbell's Neck, 
and the farm of Mr. Samuel W. Campbell, and that of Mr. 
William Foster's heirs — in all about five hundred acres. 
Their names were Jonathan, Charles, Alexander, Ebenezer, 
and William, and whether they were all brothers or not I 
do not know. They were natives of Scotland, and had 
emigrated from that country not long before, and were 
endeavoring to find a place to settle upon with which they 
might be suited. The places they took up did so, and 
they commenced settlements. After the occupation of 



44 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Bagaduce by the British in 1779, they made frequent visits 
there, as they were zealous loyalists, and were suspected 
of carrying information — a cause of displeasure to their 
neighbors, who almost all were friendly to the American 
cause. They were the persons before spoken of as going 
with the British in 1783 to the Provinces, where they set- 
tled, and their descendants still reside there. Some time 
after, two of the sons of Mr. Jonathan Greenlaw, Messrs. 
William and Richard Greenlaw, came back and remained 
till their deaths. They were brought back by the 
brothers-in-law of Mr. William Greenlaw, — Messrs. Joseph 
Whitmore and Captain Seth Hatch, — who went after them 
in a vessel. 

John Billings. — He was the person who settled the 
lot lying southeasterly of, and adjoining, that of Mr. Eaton, 
on the shore of the Reach. He came here from Boston in 
1763, and was the father of Mr. Timothy Billings, noticed 
as the first child born of white parentage in the town. 
How many years he resided here is not known, but it 
could not have been many, as his name does not appear 
among those who were styled proprietors. Whom he sold 
his right to we do not know, but at the time of Peters's 
survey, in 1798, Mr. Josiah Closson held it. Whether the 
precise spot occupied by him can be now pointed out is to 
us unknown. From what information we have we should 
judge that he removed to Sedgwick. His sons were: 
Benjamin, who lived in that town, at what is called Sar- 
gentville, on the farm since occupied by his son, Mr. 
Nathan Billings ; Abel, who lived and died in Sedgwick ; 
Isaac and Solomon, both deacons of the Baptist Church, 
who lived and died in Brooksville : the former on the place 
now occupied by Frederick Billings, Esq., his son, the 
latter on the northwest side of Walker's Pond ; Timothy, 



rOir.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 45 

who occupied the northwestern lot on Little Deer Island, 
now owned by Mr. Michael D. Snowman ; and Daniel, his 
youngest son, lived on the land now occupied by his son, 
Mr. -Edward C. Billings. There was another son, John 
Billings, who died a young man, and a daughter was the 
wife of Mr. Samuel Howard, who took up the farm lying 
between those of Messrs. Timothy and Daniel Billings, 
afterward owned by Captain John Gray. 

Nathan Clossox. — He settled upon the lot of land 
adjoining that of Mr. Billings, on the southeast. He 
came, as has been understood, from Connecticut in 1763. 
He died not many years after that, but the date is to us 
unknown. His widow was entitled to a settler's right, 
which was occupied by her son, Mr. John Closson. Their 
children were : John, Josiah, and Nehemiah, who will be no- 
ticed. One of the daughters was the wife of Mr. Benjamin 
Billings, of Sedgwick, and another was the mother of the 
late Mr. Joel Long, who lived in East Bluehill, and 
owned a sawmill there, and another was the wife of Mr. 
John Carter, of Sedgwick. 

It was the family of Mr. Closson who captured the deer 
which was seen swimming across the Reach, of which an 
account has been before given. His son, Mr. John Closson, 
whose first wife was a Miss Tobin, and his second a Miss 
Snow, remained upon the place until his death in March, 
1854, aged ninety years. His sons by the former were : 
Captain John Closson, who lived in Bluehill and died there, 
and Mr. Isaac Closson, who resided in Searsport ; and by 
his last wife the present Franklin Closson, Esq. His daugh- 
ters were the wives of Mr. Ephraim Crockett, Captain 
Jonathan Bray, Mr. John Saunders, and Mr. Isaac Bray, 
and another married in Boston. They are all now dead, 
with the exception of the last, who was living a few years 



46 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

ago. Mr. Josiah Closson remained here some years, and 
his wife was a sister of the first wife of Mr. John Closson. 
He sold his farm to Captain Jonathan Torrey and removed 
to Sedgwick, where he died. One of his sons was Mr. 
Ephraim Closson, who traded near the meeting-house in 
North Sedgwick, where he died several years ago. The 
youngest son of Mr. Nathan Closson was Deacon Nehemiah 
Closson, who filled that office for many years in the First 
Congregational Church here. He was a man much re- 
spected, and was considered a true Christian. By trade he 
was a blacksmith, and many years ago had a shop situated 
between the place now occupied by the house of Mr. William 
H. H. Spofford and the Masonic Building, which was after- 
ward removed and placed near his house, which is now 
standing near that of Dr. F. B. Ferguson, where he died, 
not far from thirty years ago. His wife was Miss Sophia 
Johnson, who survived him several years, dying at the age 
of ninety-one years, as did the wife of Mr. John Closson, 
who died in 1862 at the same age. The son of Deacon 
Closson was Mr. George C. Closson, who removed from 
this town to the town of Fairfield, Somerset County, in 
this State, nearly forty years ago. His daughters were 
the wives of Mr. Joshua Chatto ; of a Mr. Carter, in Blue- 
hill or Brooklin ; of Captain John C. Bray, and afterward 
of Mr. Samuel Candage, of Bluehill ; and the youngest, of 
Mr. Carruth, of Boston. 

Thomas Thompson. — He settled upon the land adjoin- 
ing that of Mr. Closson on the southeast. He removed 
here from Massachusetts not far from the year 1765- He 
was a man of a great deal of energy and in his time was 
one of the most prominent and enterprising citizens of 
the town and was one of its selectmen. He was of small 
stature, but he possessed a great share of courage, being 



7^0 WA' OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 47 

perfectly fearless, was very active in what he undertook, 
and what he lacked in size he made up in what is gen- 
erally termed "pluck." He was the owner of a consider- 
able amount of land — about three hundred acres, as 
appears by the plan of Peters's survey, and his death took 
place not far from the year 1824, aged upward of eighty 
years. His wife, a very worthy woman, was the sister of 
Mr. William Foster, who, it will be noticed, died in the year 
1836 at the age of ninety-one years. Their sons were: 
Adam, the father of the late Messrs. John, Solomon, and 
Edward B. Thompson, and the late Adam, Jr., Captain 
Dudley, and Hiram Thompson, and others deceased. His 
family consisted of nine sons and five daughters, who all 
lived to grow up. Another son of Mr. Thomas Thomp- 
son was Captain John Thompson, who was in his day an 
enterprising master-mariner, who died in Philadelphia ; 
and another named Thomas, who died when a young man. 
The daughters were the wives of Major Nathan Low ; 
Mr. Joseph Sellers ; a Mr. Hazen, who lived in Bridgton, 
Cumberland County ; Nathaniel Kennison, of Sedgwick ; 
Colonel Edward Barnes, of Boston ; and Mr. John How- 
ard, Jr. 

Staples. — The occupant of the land adjoining that of 
Mr. Thompson on the southeast was a man named Sta- 
ples. His widow, Mrs. Mercy Staples, with Joshua and 
Moses Staples, seems to have been here very early, not far 
from 1764. In all probability the sons above named were 
then quite young. There was another brother, who must 
at that time have arrived at manhood, who was the father 
of Mr. Samuel Staples, who died at Green's Landing, in 
1 84 1, aged seventy-three years. Samuel had one brother 
younger, named William, and two sisters, one, the wife of 
Mr. Stephen Babbidge, the other, that of Mr. Timothy 



48 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Saunders. Their father was impressed on board of an 
English ship-of-war during the Revokition, when that 
iniquity was practised. He was never heard of after that, 
and probably died while in the service. Afterward Mrs. 
Staples married a Mr. Hutchinson, of Sedgwick, by whom 
she had two sons and one daughter. The sons were Rev. 
David Hutchinson, a presiding elder in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in the western part of the State, and 
Mr. Timothy Hutchinson, who lived here many years and 
died on Little Deer Island ; and the daughter was Susan, 
the wife of Captain Benjamin Gray, of Penobscot. Mr. 
Staples moved to Swan's Island, where he died in 1845, 
aged over ninety years. The other son, Joshua, in whose 
name the lot appears on the plan, married the daughter 
of Mr. John Raynes, Sr., who had one daughter, Jane 
Staples, who married Mr. Elias Morey, Jr., who lived and 
died on Swan's Island. 

The mother, Mercy Staples, also had a settler's right, 
and it was known as the " Granny Lot," as she was known 
as "Granny Staples." She had a deed from the Tylers, 
and it passed from her to her son-in-law, Mr. Thomas 
Conary, by whom it was conveyed to the late Pearl Spof- 
ford, Esq., and is now held by his heirs. The lot set off 
to Joshua Staples afterward became the property of Major 
Nathan Low, and is now held by his heirs. 

Robert Linn was the occupant of the lot adjoining the 
Staples lot on the south. Of him we know comparatively 
little, for he left no descendants here. He came in 1765 
and probably lived a number of years on his lot, and he 
conveyed his property to Joseph Tyler, Esq., for his sup- 
port. Mr. Tyler lived many years upon it and died there ; 
and it will be stated more particularly, when we notice 
him among the inhabitants of that part of the town where 



TOIVX OF DEER ISf.E, MAfXE. 49 

he first had his residence. The farm is now occupied bv 
Mr. James Tyler, and upon it are large quantities of mar- 
ble. The Marble Company some years ago purchased the 
right on the property of Mr. Tyler and erected a large 
building upon the premises and put in machinery, but it 
proved a failure and was abandoned after some two or 
three years' operations. Whether it is of value or not we 
can not say, but there arc large quantities of it in the 
vicinity. 

Jonathan Torrev. — He was the settler nearest to Mr. 
Linn on the southeast, but not on the adjoining lot, for 
that was afterward the property of Mr. Thompson. Mr. 
Torrey lived about three fourths of a mile from Mr. Linn. 
He came from Falmouth, Maine, which then embraced 
the city of Portland and the present towns of Deering, 
Westbrook, and Falmouth, and in the town of Deering 
there are persons of that name now. He came in about 
the year 1763, and in 1767 married a daughter of Mr. 
William Eaton, and after her death he married a Mrs. 
Robinson, a daughter of the Mrs. Mercy Staples before 
spoken of. Another person, named David Torrey, was here, 
who had a settler's right, but did not stop many years, as 
no separate lot was assigned him ; and he was perhaps a 
brother of the subject of this sketch. In all probability 
he assigned his right to Jonathan Torrey, as he had a two- 
hundred-acre lot. Mr. Jonathan Torrey lost his life by the 
capsizing of a boat near Cape Rozier, when returning 
home from Castine. His oldest son, David Torrey, was in 
the boat, and, being more vigorous, was able to keep upon 
its bottom, and for a while kept his father upon it with 
him ; but as the water was cold he soon became chilled 
and fell off and was drowned, but David was soon after 
rescued. It has been stated that a certain man belontrins: 



50 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

to the town, who is now dead, passed them when they 
were both upon the bottom of the boat and made no effort 
to save them and afterward admitted that he saw them. 
By his first wife Mr. Torrey had five sons : David, born in 
1768 ; William, who was the first husband of her who 
afterward married Mr. Amos Gordon, and the father of 
Mr. Hezekiah Torrey, who was the representative from 
the town in 1822, and of Mr. William Torrey, formerly 
well known here, who died on his passage to California 
around Cape Horn, and of the first wife of John P. John- 
son, Esq. Another son was the late Captain Jonathan 
Torrey, born in 1774, who died of smallpox in 1847, and 
the father of the present Mr. David, Captains William 
and Belcher T. Torrey. Another son was Mr. David 
Torrey, who was the father of the late Captains Samuel, 
Daniel S., George W., and Davis H. Torrey, and the 
present Captain Francis H. Torrey and Mr. John Torrey, 
who lived and died on Newbury Neck in Surry. One of 
his daughters is the widow of the late Captain Jeremiah 
Hatch and formerly the wife of Mr. Johnson. The fifth 
brother was the late Captain John Torrey, who left no 
children ; nor did Mr. David Torrey, whose widow died in 
1879, aged ninety-seven years. By his second marriage 
Mr. Torrey had four sons : James, the father of Messrs. 
Amos and James, and the late Charles S. and Henry 
Torrey ; and his only daughter was the former wife of Mr. 
George C. Hardy. Another son was Mr. Levi Torrey, 
who lived and died on Swan's Island; Deacon Asa Torrey, 
who died in Ellsworth, and the late Captain Ebenezer 
Torrey, the father of Mr. Nelson Torrey, and the wife of 
Franklin Closson, Esq. By the first marriage there were 
three daughters, who were the wives of Nathan Haskell, 
Esq., Mr. Jonathan Eaton, and Mr. Nathaniel Webster, 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, M.ILVE. 5 I 

who removed to Cape Elizabeth. Two of the daughters 
were afflicted with insanity — Mrs. Haskell and Mrs. Web- 
ster ; and what was very singular, the one was rational 
while the other was insane, and a part of the time one 
would be afflicted ; and, when she recovered, the other 
would be taken insane. The real estate of Mr. Torrey is 
still owned and occupied by his descendants ; the larger 
part was owned by the late Captain Daniel S. Torrey and 
is now owned by his widow. 

William Foster was the nearest settler to Mr. 
Torrey on the southeast. He came, as we have under- 
stood, from Dedham, Masschusetts, and was by trade a 
blacksmith. In those days that trade was employed in the 
manufacture of many articles that arc now by machinery 
made a specialty. Axes, both broad and narrow, and other 
edge-tools, hoes, pitchforks, o.\-chains, and plow-irons, for 
those were the days of the clumsy wooden plows, which 
have long since gone out of use, and other articles which 
were rudely manufactured in comparison with those of our 
day. Of him Deacon Nehemiah Closson learned his trade, 
which he wrought at almost all his days. Mr. Foster set- 
tled upon a part of the land formerly occupied by the 
Greenlaw family, but whether he came here before they 
left or not is not known to us, but as he had a two-hundred- 
acre lot it is probable that he purchased the rights of one 
of them at least, which with his own would entitle him to 
that quantity. Both he and his wife died here many years 
ago, leaving a large family, for they were the parents of 
thirteen children, as I have understood. Only two of his 
sons remained, who both died here, Messrs. William and 
Samuel H. Foster, the former the father of Mr. George 
Foster, and the latter that of Mr. William H. and Charles 
H. S. F"oster ; and two daughters : one the present wife of 



52 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Mr. Admiral G. Sawyer, and the other a Mrs. Smith, now 
residing in Boston. Mr. Foster, Sr., had one daughter, 
who was the wife of Captain John Howard, Jr., who died 
about fifty years ago of a cancer. Another was the wife 
of Mr. David J. Waters, who published a newspaper in Cas- 
tine about the year 1800, and after his death married a 
Mr. Stephen Kidder, not a resident here, and after his death 
she became the wife of Mr. Samuel Obear, of Sedgwick. 
After the death of Mr. Kidder she removed to this town, 
and for many years kept a boarding-house in the house near 
that formerly occupied by the late Mr. William S. Green, 
known as the " Aaron Haskell " house. After her marriage 
with Mr. Obear she went to Lowell, Massachusetts, to reside, 
where she had a daughter, Mrs. Mclntire, and there she 
died. The real estate of Mr. Foster is now only in part 
occupied by his descendants. 

John Campbell. — He was the occupant of the lot 
adjoining that of Mr. Foster on the south. He was a 
large landed proprietor, owning one lot of two hundred 
acres, another known as the Campbell's Neck lot of seven- 
ty-seven, and the island near known as Campbell's Island, 
of eighty-eight acres, and it is probable that he purchased 
the rights of some of the Greenlaw family, as he would of 
his own right be entitled to but one hundred acres. He 
was a native of Argyleshire in Scotland, and born, accord- 
ing to the inscription on his gravestone, about the year 
1730, as he died in 1820 aged ninety years, as is there 
stated. He served for several years on board an English 
ship-of-war, but before his coming here resided in Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire. The name of his wife was 
Mary Blunt. After the commencement of the Revolu- 
tionary War he wished to remain neutral, alleging that the 
struggle with such a power as Great Britain would be vain. 



TOlViV OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 53 

as the Americans were too weak to be successful in the 
contest with her : but those were times when neutrality 
was not tolerated, and as he became an object of suspicion 
from such a desire he prudently removed from that place, 
but whether he came here directly after leaving there is to 
us unknown — nor is the time of his coming, but it was prob- 
ably during the latter part of the war, for the Greenlaws 
left in 1783, and it must have been prior to their leaving 
if he purchased the rights of any of them, and he remained 
till his death. There has been some doubt as to his age, 
some considering that he was over one hundred years of 
age from his stating that he had known of two rebellions 
in his time, one of which was in 1745 ; but if he meant 
the other, which was in 171 5, he must have been much 
older than ninety years, but it is probable that one 
that he styled a rebellion was the Revolution. It is 
to be presumed that his family knew more than others 
about the matter, and that the date of his birth was what 
is above stated. He left three sons, Messrs. Robert^ 
George, and James Campbell, and two daughters ; one was 
the wife of Captain Peter Hardy, Jr., and the other was 
finst the wife of Mr. Dudley Carlton, of Sedgwick, and 
afterward that of Mr. Frederick Carman. Mr. Robert 
Campbell was the occupant of the larger part of his 
father's estate, and he died in 1866, aged ninety-two years. 
He was the father of the present Mr. Samuel W. Campbell 
and a daughter, Mrs. Mary Foss, vvho died in Dubuque, in 
the State of Iowa. Captain George Campbell was a resi- 
dent of Nevvburyport, Massachusetts, at the time of his 
death, in 1828, at the age of forty-eight years, and the time 
of the death of Mr. James Campbell is to us unknown. 
Mrs. Hardy died not far from 1841, and Mrs. Carman in 
1874, aged ninety years. 



54 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Captain Robert Campbell was for many years a master- 
mariner, and, we believe, sailed from Newburyport, where 
he married his wife. He made several voyages to the 
West Indies, and after he quit the business resided the 
remainder of his life upon his farm. There were not many 
years' difference in the death of himself and that of his 
wife, and she was over eighty years of age at her death. 
They had another son, Captain Robert Campbell, Jr., who 
resided near New York, who died many years ago. 
Mr. Samuel W. Campbell now owns and occupies his 
real estate. 

Thomas Stinson, Esq. was the first settler on what is 
known as Stinson's Neck. He came from Woolwich, 
Maine, in 1765. He used to say that he might have se- 
lected a far more valuable place than the one he did, for 
the most valuable part afterward of the island was not 
then taken up ; but the place he selected was very con- 
venient for the procuring of sea-fowl and fish, both sea 
and shell, much more so than on some other parts. That 
was a great object with them, for the time required to put 
the land in order to obtain crops was too long, and in the 
meantime a supply must be had which could be procured 
as it was needed. In the vicinity of his residence was 
a very convenient place to take fowl by netting, the process 
of which has before been explained ; the method was 
far preferable to the taking them by shooting, for when 
shot at many times they became more shy and avoided 
the place where it was done. He was a man of piety, and 
was one of the deacons of the church, when first estab- 
lished here in 1773, and it has been said of him that he 
held the first religious meeting that was ever in the town. 
Its occasion was the regret of his wife, expressed one Sab- 
bath day, that they could not have the privilege of attend- 



TOW.Y OF DEER ISLE, M.i/XE. 55 

ing them as in the place they came from, and he answered 
that she might have it on the next Sabbath day, and ac- 
cordingly when the day came he took his wife and family 
with him to the place where a large tree stood near his 
house, and under its shade he performed the services usual 
on such occasions, reading a sermon. He was one of the 
first persons, as before mentioned, who held the commis- 
sion of a justice of the peace here, and in his day was 
considered a man of integrity, and had considerable influ- 
ence. His sons were : Thomas, Samuel, William, and 
John. One of his daughters was the wife of Mr. Thomas 
Robbins, Jr., and the mother of the late Mr. William 
G, Robbins, and the wives of the late Mr. Richard Green- 
law, 2d, and Captain Asa Richardson, who is now, in 1881, 
living at the age of eighty-six years. Another daughter 
was the wife of Mr. George Adams, and the mother of the 
wife of Mr. Henry W. Hallett, who died here nearly forty 
years ago, and also that of the present Mrs. Saunders, the 
widow of the late Mr. Asa Saunders. The real estate of 
Mr. Stinson passed into the hands of his son, the late Mr. 
John Stinson, and it is now the property of Mr. Hardy 
Lane. 

His son, Mr. Tiioma.s Siixsox, we will notice in another 
place. 

Samukl Stinsox settled upon the lot adjoining that 
of his father, and his birth took place not far from the 
year 1758. He enlisted in the military service during 
the war of the Revolution. It has been said of him that 
when at one time he was placed as a sentry he was ordered, 
if he heard or saw anything that was suspicious, to challenge 
by saying, "Who goes there .^ " three times, and if no an- 
swer was made to fire, and while on duty one night he had 
occasion to challenge, and, instead of saying it three different 



56 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

times, he said, "Who goes there three times ?" and upon 
receiving no answer fired. After his term of service had 
expired he returned home, married Miss Hannah Babbidge, 
and settled upon the lot he occupied till his death, which 
took place not far from the year 1847. He was an upright 
and reliable man, and for fifty years a church member. His 
sons were : James, Thomas, Samuel, Aaron, and Simon. 
All, with the exception of Thomas, remained here. His 
daughters were the wives of Mr. George Freeze, of Ells- 
worth, of Mr. Solomon Crockett, of Prospect, and Mr. 
Josiah Barbour, of this town. 

William Stinson took up a lot of land lying south 
of that of his brother Samuel, and occupied it till his death, 
in 1848, or about that time. His first wife was a Miss 
York, by whom he had his family, and after her death he 
married a Miss Polly Calef, and after her death he married 
the widow of Mr. William Webb. He was one of the 
deacons of the Congregational Church for many years, and 
when I first came here he, with his colleague. Deacon 
Closson, used to occupy the deacon's seat, as it was called, 
in front of, and below, the high, old-fashioned pulpit in the 
meeting-house, which was burnt down, which stood on the 
spot now occupied by the present one. He was a man of 
dignified appearance, and had a good share of what is called 
"commonsense," the most valuable of all kinds of sense. 
He represented the town in 1825 in the Legislature at 
Portland, and through all his long life was much respected. 
The men of those days were more rigid than men are now 
in doctrinal matters, but as a general thing they were as 
much so in their integrity. The sons of Mr. Stinson were 
the late Benjamin Stinson, Esq., of Swan's Island, and the 
present Mr. William Stinson. The daughters were the 
former wife of Mr. Josiah Barbour ; of the late Captain 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. ^J 

John Toothaker; of Mr. John Buckminster, afterward that 
of Mr. Mo.ses S. Finney ; of Captain Jeremiah Hooper, of 
North Haven ; of Mr. Solomon York, of Brooklin, and of 
Mr. Seth Whitmore, of Trenton. The real estate of Mr. 
Stinson is now owned and occupied by Mr. Johnson 
Billings. 

John Stinson was the youngest son, and his wife 
was Miss Isabel Dyer, of Castine, now Brooksville, on Cape 
Rozier. After her death he married the widow of Mr. 
Thomas Trundy. He lived on his father's farm until 
about thirty years ago, when it was sold to Mr. Lane, the 
present occupant. Mr. Stinson died in Rockland, where 
he removed after the sale of the place. He was a man of 
good reputation, and was more communicative than either 
of his brothers, who were rather taciturn, particularly Mr. 
William Stinson. He was for many years a church mem- 
ber and took much interest in that direction. His sons 
were John, Thomas, David, and George W., all of whom 
removed from this town. The daughters were the wives 
of Messrs. James and Ebenezer Joyce and Alexander 
Staples, all of Swan's Island. Mrs. Staples afterward 
became the wife of Mr. Joseph Small. By his second 
marriage he had a son, now living near Boston, and at the 
time of his birth his father was about seventy-si.x years 
of age. 

Thomas Conarv was the first settler of what is known 
as Black Island, lying in the Reach, or, as it is sometimes 
called, Conary's Island, and, as before stated, was included 
within the limits of the town by the act of the Legisla- 
ture of 1868. As has been understood, Mr. Conary was 
a native of Ireland. He was a very witty person, and 
in former years I used to hear of many of his witty and 
comical expressions. His first wife was the daughter of 



58 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



the ancestor of the Limeburner family, now living in 
Brooksville, by adoption. Mr. Limeburner emigrated 
from Scotland before the Revolutionary War, and with 
him came, besides his own family, two children, a son and 
a daughter adopted by him. The son was Cunningham 
Limeburner, who died at an advanced age, not far from 
1825, in Brooksville, and the daughter, Mrs. Conary, was, 
I believe, a sister by birth to him. After her death he 
married a daughter of Mercy Staples, and a sister of 
Messrs. Joshua and Moses Staples, and by both marriages 
had ten sons, one of whom made this town his permanent 
residence — Mr. Thomas Conary, Jr., who died at an ad- 
vanced age. His other sons settled in towns in this 
vicinity, and all of the name in this and other towns near 
us are the descendants of Mr. Conary, Sr. He had three 
daughters of whom I have had knowledge. One was the 
wife of Mr. Robinson Crockett, Jr., who lived in this town 
many years, afterward removing to Brooksville, where he 
died ; another was the wife of Mr. Ebenezer Marks, of 
Brooksville ; another of the late Mr. Amaziah Roberts, of 
Sedgwick. 

Benjamin York was the person who settled the island 
now in the limits of the town, known as White, or York's, 
Island, in the Reach. There is another island known as 
York's Island lying easterly of, and near, Isle au Haut, 
and within the limits of that town. About Captain York, 
as he was called, but little is known by us, or whence he 
came. A son of his was the father of the late Mr. Rufus 
York, who was drowned in Crockett's Cove, in the spring 
of 1844. He was on board a vessel loaded with wood to 
be carried to Rockland, which took fire from the funnel 
above the fireplace in the night, and when discovered the 
deck load was on fire, and the flames swept everything on 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 59 

the deck. With him were his son Samuel S. York and 
Mr. Benjamin Cole. His son was the first who discovered 
the fire and first on deck. He was delayed in helping his 
father up the gangway and was badly burned, as were 
they all. Mr. York was lame, and when they jumped 
overboard to swim on shore, which was but a short dis- 
tance from the vessel, Mr. York became chilled and sank, 
and the other two gained the shore. Samuel was unable 
to walk, but as his father's house was near, crept to it and 
went in, but lived but a day or two. Mr. Cole was not so 
badly injured as to be unable to walk, and helped Samuel 
to reach his house, but his injuries were so severe as to 
impair his health so that he lived but two or three years. 
The body of Mr. York was found and buried a few days 
after the occurrence. Another brother of the family was 
Mr. Benjamin York, who left town nearly fifty years ago. 
One of the sisters was the wife of Mr. Richard Crockett, 
the mother of the present Captain Levi B. Crockett ; 
another was the wife of Mr. Ephraim Crockett, a brother 
to her sister's husband. Captain York, the subject of 
this notice, had other sons, whose descendants reside at 
Naskeag Point, in the town of Brooklin, and all of the 
name in this vicinity are descendants of his. A daughter 
of him was the wife of Deacon William Stinson, before 
noticed, but of his family little is known. Captain York, 
for his last wife, married the widow of a Mr. Richardson, 
of Falmouth, Maine, who was the father of Captain Asa 
Richardson, now living here at the age of eighty-four 
years. She must have been much younger than her last 
husband. 

Thomas Rohiuns, 2d, was the settler upon the point 
of Greenlaw's Neck, from which the bar runs to Stinson's 
Neck. He was the son of another person of the same 



6o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

name, who will be noticed ; and in the notice of Thomas 
Stinson, Esq., his wife and children are there named. 
Of him but little is known, and but one of his sons 
remained here — Mr. William G. Robbins, who sold his 
property to the present occupant, Mr. William Smith, not 
long after i860, and removed to the town of Addison, 
Maine, where he died. Another brother, Mr. James 
Robbins, removed East when a young man, and of him 
nothing is known. 

Thomas Warren settled on what is known as Warren's, 
or Freeze's, Island, now owned and occupied by the widow 
of Mr. Billings R Hardy. It appears, from what informa- 
tion that we have had, that he claimed a " settler's right," 
but that it was disputed on the ground, doubtless, that 
he had not made a settlement in season to be entitled 
to one. His wife was the daughter of Mr. George 
Freeze, and by her he had three children : one was the- 
late Hon. Richard Warren, well known to us all, who died 
in 1865, at the age of seventy-nine. He represented the 
town in the Legislature in 1823 and in 1835 ; he was State 
Senator in 1844 and 1845 ; was several times one of the 
selectmen, and was for many years engaged in trade and in 
the fishing business. His wife, a most excellent woman, 
died in 1861, much lamented. She was the daughter of Mr. 
Samuel Trundy, Sr. Another brother was William War- 
ren, who died when a young man ; a sister, Mary Warren, 
the wife of a Mr. Spencer, who lived in one of the towns 
on Penobscot River, above Bangor. Mr. Thomas Warren 
was drowned by falling out of a log canoe, and after his 
death his widow married Mr. William Ring, who occupied 
the island on which Mr. Warren settled and the land nearest 
to it, on Greenlaw's Neck, which is still known as " Ring 
Town," now owned by the heirs of the late Pearl Spof- 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 6 I 

ford, Esq. Mr. Ring afterward removed to the town of 
Ellsworth, where both he and his wife died. 

Elijah Toothaker settled on the lot still known as the 
"Toothaker Place," and he was one of those known as 
"young settlers," and the lot was surveyed to him as 
appears by Peters's plan] made in 1798. Where he came 
from I never knew, but he had a brother who lived in the 
town of Phillips, in Franklin County, named John Tooth- 
aker, whose descendants now live there ; and another by 
the name of Joseph, who lived for some time on Swan's 
Island. The wife of Mr. Toothaker was named Elizabeth 
Daggett. He was drowned not far from 18 10, while com- 
ing from the main land, accidently falling overboard. His 
oldest son, the late Captain John Toothaker, was with 
him, aged about sixteen years, and came home with the 
boat. Mr. Toothaker left four sons : John, for many 
years a master-mariner, dying in 1841, aged forty-eight 
years; Elijah, who was lost at sea, being knocked over- 
board by the main boom of the schooner Charles of Cas- 
tine ; P^benezer, who lived in the town of Holden, at 
Gilmore's Corner, a blacksmith by trade, and Captain 
Thomas D. Toothaker, who removed to Belfast and was 
lost at sea. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Isaac 
Harding, of Sedgwick ; Mr. l^enjamin Smith, of Swan's 
Island ; 'Mr. William G. Robbins, of this town, and a Mr. 
Full, who resided in some town near Bangor. After the 
death of Mr. Toothaker, his widow married Captain 
Belcher Tyler. She was five times a widow. Her third 
husband was Mr. Thomas Stinson, 2d ; the fourth was 
Mr. Samuel Jordan, of Sedgwick; the fifth was Mr. 
Dominicus Carman, of this town, — having as many hus- 
bands as the woman of Samaria. 

Wii-LiAM Greenlaw was the first settler near what is 



62 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

called " Fish Creek." He was the son of Mr. Jonathan 
Greenlaw, mentioned before, who went with the British to 
New Brunswick in 1783. As before stated, the subject of 
this sketch returned with his brother Richard. The wife 
of Mr. Greenlaw was Miss Rebecca Babbidge, a daughter 
of Mr. William Babbidge ; and at the time of their mar- 
riage there was no person qualified to solemnize marriages 
nearer than Bagaduce, where the chaplain to the garrison 
officiated. The person who performed the duties of 
chaplain, as well as surgeon, was Dr. John Calef, a refugee 
from Massachusetts, in which State he was born, in 
Ipswich ; and when the troops evacuated the place, he 
went with them into the Province of New Brunswick, 
where he lived the remainder of his days. Mr. Greenlaw 
was married in 1780, and he and Mr. Joseph Whitmore, 
with their intended wives, who were sisters, went there 
for the purpose, and they were both joined in marriage on 
the same day. Mr. Greenlaw and wife were the parents 
of ten sons and one daughter, who lived to manhood 
and womanhood. The eldest of the sons was William, 
who was lost at sea on a whaling voyage, when a young 
man. The second son was the late Captain John Green- 
law, who was a capable and intelligent master-mariner, who 
died in 1870, at the age of eighty-seven years, after hav- 
ing lived with his wife in wedlock sixty-six yeirs. He 
was the father of the present Captain Jeremiah H., Eben- 
ezer, and William Greenlaw. Another son was Mr. James 
Greenlaw, who was drowned not far from 1830, leaving a 
family. Another was Captain Jonathan Greenlaw, who 
removed to Eastport, out of which place he sailed many 
years. Another was the late Captain Richard Greenlaw, 
the father of the present Mr. Thomas R. Greenlaw, 
Another was Thomas Greenlaw, who was drowned when 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 63 

a young man. Another was Mr. Ebenezer Greenlaw, the 
father of the present Mr. Eben Greenlaw, 2cl. Another 
was the late Captain Walter Greenlaw, well known in his 
day, who died at sea in about the year 1847. Another is 
the present Levi Greenlaw, the sole survivor, at the age 
of seventy-nine years in 1882. And the other was the 
late Mr. William Greenlaw. The daughter was the wife 
of Mr. Daniel G. Copp, who removed from this place to 
Castine, who was by trade a ship carpenter and joiner, 
and from Castine he removed to the city of Ellsworth, 
where he died. 

About this family there was one singularity ; of the 
ten sons there were five who could use no food or drink in 
which there was anything sweet, operating upon them as 
an emetic ; while upon the remaining five it had no such 
effect. Mr. Greenlaw was one of whom every one who 
knew him spoke in praise, as a quiet, honest, and upright 
man. The land occupied by him was not a part of that 
taken up by his father and uncles, as that passed into 
other hands ; but as he was here so early, he was entitled 
to a settler's right, and the place is still the property of 
his descendants. 

Nath.vniel Scott was the person who purchased the 
settler's right of Major William Eaton, and, as I have 
understood, Mr. Eaton left the place while the British had 
possession of Bagaduce, in order that he might escape 
the necessity of taking the oath of allegiance or neutrality. 
He went to the town of York, the place from which he 
came here, and after peace was jiroclaimed returned, and 
it was probably not many years after that he sold his 
right to Mr. Scott, who came here with a family. His 
son, John Scott, was married before he came, as was 
his daujrhter Martha to Mr. Asa Green. There was a son 



64 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

of the name of William Scott, who purchased the lot at 
the Northwest Harbor, on which the house known as 
the " Green House " now stands, and erected a house 
upon it. It has since been much enlarged, and is now a 
large and elegant house. The house that was standing 
fifty years ago was built by William Scott, after which he 
died, and Mr. Green and wife came here from Worcester 
County, Massachusetts, and occupied it till their death. 
Ignatius Haskell, Esq., had a claim upon it which he sold 
to Mr. Asa Green, and afterward it was transferred to his 
son, the late William S. Green. The time of Mr. Green's 
removal I do not know exactly, but it was prior to 1800, 
as the land was sold to William Scott previous to Peters's 
survey, and not long after his purchase he died. Mr, 
Nathaniel Scott died not long after 1790, and Mr. John 
Scott occupied the farm till his death, which took place 
not far from 1830. Mr. John Scott and wife were the 
parents of eight sons and three daughters. The sons were : 
John, who died a young man ; James, who died a young 
man also ; Clark, about whom I never knew anything ; 
Enos, who, with his brother Eben, removed to Lubec ; 
William, who resided in Boston some years ago ; the pres- 
ent Mr. Levi Scott and the late Mr. Leonard Scott. The 
daughters were the wives of Mr. Joseph Clifton and Cap- 
tain Enoch P. Hazen, and one, Lucinda, died unmarried. 
The estate is now occupied by the widow of Mr. Leonard 
Scott, and by Captain William Torrey, John Weed, and 
William P. Scott. Whether Mr. William Scott is still 
living is not to us known. Mrs. Hazen, with her husband, 
removed to Brooklin, where he died, and after his death 
she went to reside with one of her daughters in Massa- 
chusetts. Mrs. Clifton lived to be very aged, leaving three 
daughters : one, the wife of Captain William Torrey ; 



TO J FA' OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 65 

another the wife of Mr. Thomas Lowe, and another 
married, living in Massachusetts. 

Asa Greex, the son-in-law of Mr. Nathaniel Scott, 
died in 1838, aged over eighty years, and his wife survived 
him. He was for many years elected constable, and was 
in former years a deputy sheriff. He was elected in 18 19, 
with Ignatius Haskell, Esq., a delegate to frame the Con- 
stitution of the State. Their children were John, a mas- 
ter-mariner, who was, with his brother Asa Green, Fred- 
erick Spofford, Esq., Abner Babbidge, and Amos Angell, 
a son of Dr. David Angell, wrecked on the Green Islands 
in February, 181 8, in the schooner Shakespeare, returning 
from Boston, and all perished. Another son was the late 
Captain William S. Green, who was well known to us for 
many years. He was in 1842, 1859, ^^^^ i" 1863, a repre- 
sentative to the State Legislature, and died in 1870 at 
the age of sixty-five years, leaving a widow who is still 
living (1882) ; three sons : Martin, now dead, Thomas 11, 
and John W., and a daughter, Mrs. Kettletas. Another 
son of Mr, Asa Green was Thomas Green, the father of 
the present Mr. Asa Green. The daughters of the 
family were Frances, the wife of Mr. Joseph Small ; Mary, 
the wife of Mr. Thomas Haskell, and afterward the wife 
of Mr. Thomas Dow, Jr. ; another was Roxanna, the wife 
of Captain Francis Haskell, who was lost in the schooner 
Counnodorc Perry (on board of which was his son and son- 
in-law), on Long Ledge, off Mount Desert, November 26, 
1S45 ; and another daughter was first the wife of John R. 
Haskell, and mother oi the present Captain Sylvanus G. 
Haskell, and afterward the wife of Moses C. Angell, who 
removed to Boston, where he died a few years ago, and 
where his widow still resides. The property of Captain 
William S. Green was, after his death, occupied by 



66 ^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Martin V. B. Green, and is now by Mrs. Kettletas, with 
whom her mother resides. 

Peter Hardy was the settler upon the lot adjoining 
that of William Eaton, on the southwest. He was a 
native of the county of Worcester, Massachusetts. His 
wife was a daughter of Deacon Francis Haskell, but 
whether they were married here or before they came here 
is to me unknown. His son Peter Hardy, the eldest of 
the family, was born in February, 1770, and it is probable 
that the marriage was before they came here, as his father- 
in-law did not come till 1770, according to the best in- 
formation that we have. The land he settled upon was 
the place of the occupancy of Michael Carney, but Carney 
had gone before Mr. Hardy came. He was for several 
years a coroner, and both he and his wife died upon the 
same day, in 183 1, and were buried in one grave, 
having lived together in wedlock over sixty years. There 
have been but three other instances that have come to my 
knowledge where both husband and wife occupied the 
same grave. One was in 1826, of Mr. Jeremiah Pressey 
and wife ; another in 1832-33, of Mr. James Babbidge 
and wife, who were drowned in attempting to pass through 
the flood-gates at Holt's milldam, and the other was that 
of Captain Joseph Raynes and wife, in 1859. 

Mr. Hardy and wife were the parents of three sons : the 
late Captain Peter Hardy, who died in 1863 at the age of 
ninety-three years ; Mr. Jonathan Hardy, who lived and 
died upon Little Deer Island, and another named Silas, 
who, when a young man, was lost at sea. The daughters 
of the family were the wives of a Mr. Wooster, and she 
was the mother of five children at two births, and the last 
was but thirteen months after the first. Another daughter 
was the wife of Mr. Adams, in Massachusetts. Another 



TOiyjV OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 67 

was the wife of Captain Jonathan Haskell, 2d, and another 
that of Captain Jonathan Haskell, 3d, who was known as 
" Long Metre," as he was a very tall man ; and the young- 
est was the wife of Mr. Oliver Lane, Jr. Captain Jona- 
than Haskell, 2d, died in 1873, aged ninety-four years, and 
Mr. Lane was the father of the present Mr. Hardy Lane. 

Captain Peter Hardy, Jr.'s wife was Miss Sarah Camp- 
bell, daughter of Mr. John Campbell. They had the fol- 
lowing-named sons : Peter, who lived and died on Little 
Deer Island, in 1859, aged sixty-one years; Silas, who 
formerly traded on Swan's Island. He was a master- 
mariner, and died in Australia a number of years ago. 
John, who lived in Newburyport, and is now dead. 
Francis, who formerly was a master-mariner, but who now 
resides in Massachusetts. George C. Hardy, a well- 
known citizen, who has been one of the selectmen in 
former years, and who owns and occupies the farm occu- 
pied by his grandfather ; and another, now dead. There 
was one daughter, now the widow of Mr. John Thompson. 
Captain Hardy was for many years a master-mariner. 
He was a man of enterprise and accumulated quite a 
property for those days ; was a member of the Legislature 
in 1834 and in 1839, and was for some years one of the 
selectmen. 

The family of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, whose wife was a 
Miss Putnam, of Newburyport, was Silas L., who lived 
and died on Little Deer Island not far from 1861 ; Jona- 
than, who lived there many years, and afterward removed 
to Winterport, where he died a few years ago ; Joseph P., 
who moved to Winterport, where he was well known for 
several years, and afterward removed to the State of 
Illinois, where he is probably now living ; Billings P., who 
moved to Frankfort, and afterward returned here, pur- 



68 ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

chased Freeze's Island, where he resided till his death. 
Another son was Captain Abijah W. Hardy, who resides 
in Winterport. The daughters were the wives of Major 
Nathan Low, Joshua Haskell, and Mr. Henry Harris. 

Jeremiah Eaton was the first settler upon the farm 
adjoining that of Mr. Hardy upon the southwest. He 
was the son of Major William Eaton, and his wife was a 
daughter of Captain Mark and a sister of Ignatius Haskell, 
Esq. She survived him, and her second marriage 
was with Mr. John Howard, who will b§^ noticed. She 
had no children, and Mr. Eaton adopted two brothers, the 
children of Eleanor Bray, afterward the wife of Mr. 
Perry and the mother of the present Mr. Eli Perry. The 
children took his name, and were known as Mr. Asa B. 
Eaton and Edward Eaton. He bequeathed his property 
after his wife's decease to them, but they did not receive 
it. It became the property of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
and afterward that of Thomas Adams, Esq., of Castine, 
by whom it was sold to the late Captain Amos Howard, 
and it is now occupied by his widow. Asa B. Eaton, one 
of the adopted sons, married Miss Mercy Raynes, daughter 
of William and sister of the late Captain Johnson Raynes. 
Three of their children only lived to grow up. One, the 
present Captain William R. Eaton, who resided for many 
years here, and in 1867 removed to Wakefield, Massachu- 
setts, and now resides in Newburyport. He has been for 
many years an enterprising master-mariner. Another 
brother was the late Mr. Nathan H. Eaton, and a sister now 
dead was the wife of a Mr. Dexter, in Boston. Mr. Eaton 
died at sea in 185 1, and his wife survived him not many 
years. The other brother, Mr. Edward Eaton, married a 
daughter of Mr. Chase Pressey, by whom he had one son, 
Hiram Eaton, who went from here about forty years ago, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 69 

and two daughters, one of whom married in Boston, and 
both are now dead. Both Edward Eaton and his wife 
died more than fifty years ago. 

John Howard was the settler upon the lot southwest- 
erly of that of Mr. Jeremiah Eaton, though not adjoining, 
as the land now occupied by Mr. Albion K. Haskell 
lies between, which was first purchased by Mr. John Scott, 
Jr., and afterward by the late Captain Ignatius Haskell, 
Jr. Mr. Howard was three times married. His first wife 
was a daughter of Mr, John Pressey, Jr., and their chil- 
dren were John, Joshua C, Michael, Thomas, and Amos 
Howard, none of whom is now living. His daughters 
by his first wife were the wives of Captain William Eaton, 
the son of William Eaton, 2d, and was afterward the wife 
of Mr. Nathaniel Ingalls ; the others were the wives of the 
late Mr. Samuel H. Foster, Pepperell Tyler, and Andrew 
Tyler, and all, with the exception of the present widow of 
the last named, are now dead. Mrs. Foster died the pres- 
ent year, 1881, nearly eighty-nine years of age. Mr. How- 
ard for his second wife married the widow of Mr. Jeremiah 
Eaton, and after her death married Mrs. Mary C. Small, 
of Newburyport, Massachusetts, who was many years 
younger than himself, and by her had one daughter, Mary 
A., who was the wife of Captain Edmund S, Raynes, of 
this town, now residing in Newburyport. She is now 
dead. Mr. John Howard, Jr. married first a daughter of 
Mr. Thomas Thompson, and by her had one son. Captain 
Thomas Howard, now a resident of Newburyport. After 
her death he married Susan, the daughter of Mr. William 
h'oster, by whom he had six sons and two daughters. 
One of the sons only remained here, the late Mr. Stephen 
K. Howard. Three, William, Charles, and John, died 
when young men. Oliver now resides in Gloucester, 



JO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Massachusetts, and the place of residence of the other, 
Darius, is to us unknown. Of the daughters, one was the 
wife of Mr. Rufus H. Moulton, a master ship-carpenter, 
who lived for many years in Brooklin, and afterward 
removed to Massachusetts ; the other was the wife of a 
Mr. Pettingill, in Newburyport. Captain Joshua C. How- 
ard, the second son, married Lydia, the daughter of Jo- 
seph Tyler, Esq., by whom he had two sons, one of whom 
was drowned when a child. The other, Mr. Joseph T. 
Howard, lived in Newburyport, where he died not many 
years ago. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Michael 
H. Pressey, of this town ; a Mr. Short, in Newburyport ; 
and the youngest was the wife of Captain John J. Raynes, 
now of Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Captain Howard was 
very skilful as a pilot, and served in that capacity on 
board one of the first steamers that navigated the waters 
in this vicinity, in 1827, and afterward was pilot of the 
revenue-boat Veto at Castine, and came to his death by 
the effects of arsenic. While serving on board the Veto, a 
revenue-cutter whose duty was inspection, he went to Cas- 
tine and procured the services of Captain Howard as pilot 
to Bangor. Her captain being a harsh man, a conspiracy 
was formed by the cook and others to poison him, and 
while at Bangor arsenic was procured, with which the cap- 
tain and those who sat at the table with him were poisoned. 
The dose was so large that it operated speedily ; death 
did not immediately take place, but all died not long after. 
Captain Howard survived them all, living some six 
months after the occurrence, which took place in the year 
1832. The next brother, Michael Howard, married a 
daughter of Mr. Chase Pressey, and they are now dead. 
They occupied the house near that of Mr. Samuel Picker- 
ing, and of the family but two remain : Charles, who went 



TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 7 I 

into Massachusetts, and a daughter who now occupies the 
house of her father. The other brothers, Messrs. Thomas 
and Amos Howard, died but few years ago, and were well 
known to us here. 

WiLLi.VM Eatox, 2d, settled the lot adjoining that' 
of Mr. Howard on the southwest, and his wife was a 
daughter of Deacon Francis Haskell. Their sons were 
William, Jeremiah, and Samuel, all now dead. The daugh- 
ters were the wives of Dr. Moody Powers ; Mr. Amasa 
Holden, who came from Mendon, Massachusetts, and was 
for many years a school-teacher ; a Mr. Knight, of New- 
buryport ; Mr. John Short, of the same place, who 
removed from here to Castine, and afterward to Bangor, 
where he died ; Captain Ignatius Haskell, Jr. Another 
was first the wife of Mr. Avery Small, and after that of 
Mr. William Greenlaw ; and one, Esther, died unmarried. 
They all, with the exception of Mrs. Greenlaw, are now 
dead. The farm of Mr. Eaton is now owned by two of 
his grandsons, Mr. William E. Powers and Mr. Francis 
M. Holden. The wife of Mr. Eaton died in 1836, and he 
died not far from the year 1841. Captain William Eaton, 
Jr., his son, married Abigail Howard, the daughter of Mr.. 
John Howard. Their son, the present William Eaton, is 
a pilot in the revenue-service, and resides in Portland. 
The daughters were the wives of Captain Daniel S. Torrey, 
Mr. William Low, Captain Francis H. Torrey, and Mr. John 
Weed, two of whom, the Mrs. Torreys, are living. Captain 
ICaton was lost in the latter part of the year 1830, on board 
the sloop Huntress of Castine, Captain John Greenlaw, Jr. 
He acted as pilot on a trip from that place to New York, 
and on their return was lost. Besides the two above 
named there were on board Mr. William Buckminster and 
Joseph Conary, who acted as cook. Mr. Jeremiah Eaton, 



72 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



the next brother, married and Hved near the bar on Little 
Deer Island. He was drowned in 1834, leaving a widow 
and family, of whom but three are now living. The other 
brother, Samuel Eaton, was lost at sea when a young man. 
Abijah Haskell, a son of Deacon Francis Haskell, 
settled the lot adjoining that of Mr. Eaton on the south- 
west, and his wife was a daughter of Mr. Benjamin 
Cole, Sr. Their sons were Jonathan Haskell, 2d, Abijah, 
Francis, and Joshua Haskell. One of the daughters was 
first the wife of Captain Benjamin S. Haskell, who was 
lost in the schooner Lingiin, about 1822. She afterward 
became the wife of Doctor Abiel Reed, by whom she had 
one son, the present Captain William H. Reed, now resid- 
ing in Portland, and a daughter, who was the wife of Mr. 
Levi Marshall, Jr. Another was the wife of Mr. Ezekiel 
Marshall, and another that of Mr. Thomas Dow. Captain 
Jonathan Haskell, 2d, married a daughter of Mr. Peter 
Hardy, by whom he had two daughters : one the widow of 
the late Edward Y. Haskell, and the mother of the present 
Captain Caleb W., George D., Albert L., and Edwin L. 
Haskell ; the other is the widow of the late Captain Dud- 
ley Thompson. Captain Haskell died in 1873, aged ninety- 
four years. Mr. Abijah Haskell, the next eldest brother, 
married a sister of Mrs. Jonathan Haskell ; he lived on 
Little Deer Island, where he died at the age of ninety-one 
years. His wife survived him not long, and they lived 
together in wedlock sixty-five years. Captain Francis 
Haskell, the next brother, was lost, as has been stated, 
in 1845, on board the schooner Commodore Perry. Joshua, 
the youngest, died about two years ago. The estate of 
Mr. Abijah Haskell is still owned and occupied by his 
descendants. 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 73 

Nathan Haskell, Esq. settled the lot lying south- 
westerly of the land of Mr. Abijah Haskell, though not 
adjoining it, and he came here, I judge, prior to 1784, or 
about that year. He first married a daughter of Captain 
Mark Haskell, by whom he had one daughter, who became 
the wife of Rev. Wigglesworth Dale. After her death he 
married Miss Lucy Torrey, daughter of Mr. Jonathan Tor- 
rey. She was the mother of the late Mr. Edward Y. Has- 
kell, and of the wife of Mr. Peter Powers, and the mother 
of Nathan H. Powers, now of Orland. He died, leaving a 
widow, who survived him several years. He was a man 
of intelligence, was for many years a justice of the peace, 
and filled offices in the town, and was also a deacon in the 
Congregational Church. His real estate was, after his 
death, owned and occupied by his son, and now by his 
widow. 

Caleb Haskell, a brother of Nathan Haskell, occupied 
the lot adjoining that of the last-named on the southwest. 
His wife was not a native of this town, and none of his 
family after his death remained here, except a daughter, 
who was the first wife of Mr. Jesse Niles, a carpenter, who 
came not long after 1800, from New Hampshire, who 
occupied the farm for many years. It was sold about in 
the year 1840, and is now owned and occupied by Mr. Will- 
iam H. Thompson. None of the family of Mr. Niles by 
his first wife is now living, but after her death, which took 
place in 1835, he married a daughter of Mr. Naylor Small, 
by whom he had a family. 

Nathan Dow settled on the lot of land adjoining that 
of Mr. Caleb Haskell on the southwest, and a part of his 
farm bordered upon the Northwest Harbor, and embraced 
what is now known as Dow's Point, on the northeast side 
of the entrance to the harbor. He was the second person 



74 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



who permanently settled in that part of the island, Mr. 
John Pressey having taken up a lot on the southwest side 
of the entrance, opposite the land occupied by Mr. Dow. 
He came in the fall of 1767, and, I presume, came from 
the town of Brunswick, Maine, or that vicinity, as he was 
a neighbor of Mr. Theophilus Eaton, who came here from 
that place, then better known as New Meadows River, 
which runs up into that town. He died here, leaving two 
sons, John and Nathan Dow, and two daughters, who were 
married. The elder, Diana, was the wife of Mr. Jonathan 
Eaton, who will be noticed, and who came with Mr. Dow. 
The other was the wife of Mr. Josiah Crockett, who was 
well known here in his time. Mr. John Dow, his son, 
married a daughter of Mr. Thomas Saunders, and was the 
father of the late Mr. Thomas Dow ; Mr. Stephen Dow, 
who was drowned over fifty years ago ; Mr. Samuel Dow, 
who settled on Mount Desert Island ; Ephraim Dow, who 
removed there about forty years ago ; and Mr. William T. 
Dow, who removed from here to Tinker's Island. The 
daughters were the wives of Mr. William Staples, a son of 
a man of the same name who was said to have been 
impressed on board a British ship-of-war during the Rev- 
olution. Another was the wife of the late Joseph C. 
Stinson, Esq. ; another married Captain John Kempton, 
of Isle au Haut, and another Captain Jacob Carlton, who 
for many years resided in the same place, and afterward 
removed to Winterport, where he died. Captain Carlton 
represented this town in the Legislature in 1838. Of 
Nathan Dow, 2d, I knew but little. He left three 
sons : one, the present Mr. Nathan Dow, who is now 
(1881) aged eighty-nine years; Joshua and Ephraim Dow, 
who have been dead some years. The land of Mr. Nathan 
Dow was mostly occupied by his son Nathan after his 



roirx OF DEER ISLE, MALVE. 75 

decease, and after the decease of his son his three sons 
above named came into possession, but a part of it is now 
owned by the heirs of the late Martin V. B. Green, and 
the residue by the descendants of the original owner. 

Theoi'HILUS Eaton settled upon the lot of land adjoin- 
ing that of Mr. Dow on the southeast, and bordered by 
the waters of the Northwest Harbor. He was a cousin 
of Major William r^aton, the first permanent settler, and 
was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the year 1720, 
and came here in 1768. From Haverhill he removed to 
the town of Sandown, New Hampshire, and from that 
place to Brunswick, and from the latter place here. The 
occasion of his coming was this : A daughter of his, Judith 
Eaton, married Mr. Edward Howard, who afterward lived 
and died in Brooksville. Mr. Howard came here and com- 
menced a settlement. His wife was taken sick, and he 
went to Brunswick to bring her mother here to take care 
of her daughter during her sickness. Mrs. Howard died, 
and after that Mr. Eaton came here in a boat to take his 
wife home. This was in 1767. Mr. Howard, after the 
death of his wife, gave his mother-in-law all his rights to 
land here, as a compensation for her services. Mr. Eaton 
was pleased with the location, and the next spring, 1768, 
moved with his family, where he remained till his death in 
I 793. The wife of Mr. Eaton was Miss Abigail Fellows, 
who died in 1824, aged one hundred and two years and 
eight months, at the residence of her son, James Eaton, 
in the town of Prospect. His sons were : Moses, who 
lived on what is now the place occupied as a village, in 
the town of Sedgwick ; Jonathan, whom wo have noticed 
as making his escape when arrested to be carried to 
Bagaduce ; Ebenezer, who was for many years a minister 
of the gospel on the island of Mount Desert ; and James, 



76 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

who occupied his father's place after his death, and to 
whom the lot was laid out on Peters's plan, who afterward 
sold to Captain Jonathan Haskell. The daughters who 
survived him were, one, the wife of Mr. Harding, in 
Sedgwick ; another was the wife of Mr. Solomon Billings, 
who lived on the northwest side of what is known as 
Walker's Pond, in Brooksville ; and another was the wife 
of Captain John Raynes, of this place. She died in 1850, 
at the age of ninety-one years. Mr. Eaton was one of the 
earlier selectmen of the town, and was a man much re- 
spected. The farm occupied by Mr. Eaton was after- 
ward in part occupied by the late Captain John Torrey, 
and a part of his possession is the property of his adopted 
daughter, the widow of the late Mr. Joshua Pressey, 2d. 

Levi Carman was the person who settled on the 
lot lying on the southeast of that of Mr. Eaton. He 
came, as appears by the best information now to be had, 
in, or about, the year 1768, but from what place is not 
known. He was a master-mariner and was engaged in 
the coasting trade. From the fact that he was chosen 
one of the committee to obtain a grant of the lands 
remaining on the island, after the settlers had had their 
lots assigned them, it must have been that he was a man 
of intelligence and character. The time of his death was 
before 1798, as on Peters's plan the lot he occupied, contain- 
ing two hundred acres, was assigned to the " Widow Car- 
man;" but of him but little has been learned. His widow 
died in 1835, aged ninety-one years. Their children were: 
Mr. Dominicus Carman, who lived near what is known as 
Carman's Rock, a large granite bowlder by the side of the 
highway leading to the steamboat-landing, about one mile 
from the Northwest Harbor. He was considered a skilful 
doctor of cattle, to which he paid considerable attention. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 77 

Another brother was Mr. John Carman, who died many- 
years ago. One of the daughters was the wife of Captain 
Francis Marshall and mother of the late Levi Marshall, 
and the other, that of Mr. Naylor Small. The wife of Mr. 
Dominicus Carman was a daughter of Mr. Ezra Howard, 
who will be noticed. They had one son who lived to man- 
hood, the late Mr. Thomas Carman, the father of Michael 
P., Edwin, and Abner P. Carman. One of the daughters 
married Mr. Samuel Saunders ; one married Mr. James 
Jarvis; another married Mr. P'rancis Haskell; and there 
was another who went from here many years ago. After 
the death of his wife, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Jordan, 
the lady before noticed, who was five times a widow. He 
was born in 1766 and died not far from 1850. 

The wife of Mr. John Carman was a Miss Choatc, a 
sister of Mr. George G. Choate, who was a native of Esse.x 
County, Massachusetts, who lived here many years and is 
well remembered by the older people among us for his 
wit. He removed to Bluehill, where he died. Mr. John 
Carman and wife were the parents of three sons and si.x 
daughters. The sons were the present Mr. Levi Carman 
and Mr. Frederick Carman, and John Carman, who died 
when a young man. The daughters were the wives of 
]\Ir. John Ferguson, who, at the time of his marriage, lived 
in Massachusetts ; of the late Mr. Solomon Haskell, of 
this town ; of the late Jonathan P2. Webb., Esq. ; of Mr. 
James Clough, of Bluehill ; of Dr. Charles N. Briggs, a 
dentist, a native of Rhode Island ; and of a Mr. Trow- 
bridge ; with one or two exceptions they arc now 
dead. The widow of Mr. Carman married Mr. Jeremiah 
Stover, who came here from Penobscot, whom she sur- 
vived, and died not far from 1852, at an advanced age. 
The land occupied by Mr. Levi Carman is still mostly 



78 



AiV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



occupied by his descendants; that of Dominicus Carman, 
by his grandson, Mr. Tristram Haskell, to whom descended 
his grandfather's skill as a cattle-doctor. 

Mark Haskell was the first settler who occupied the 
lot adjoining that of Mr. Carman on the southeast. He 
came when quite advanced in years, not far from the year 
1768, from what was then known as Sandy Bay, in the 
town of Rockport, Massachusetts, and some of his sons 
came at the same time and occupied the premises with 
him. He was the father of Captain Mark and Deacon 
Francis Haskell, who afterward came. He resided here 
several years, but prior to his death he made a contract 
with Ignatius Haskell, Esq., his grandson, for his support, 
and in consideration conveyed to him his right as a set- 
tler. Not long after he went on a visit to his friends in 
Massachusetts, where he died ; and his right, by virtue of 
his own and some of his son's occupancy, became, upon a 
division of the land, the property of his grandson, by 
whom it was owned at the time of his death. The lot 
contained two hundred and fifty acres, running about two 
miles, in a northeast direction, from the Northwest Har- 
bor, and a part of it is known as the " Rye Field" lot. 

Francis Haskell, a son of the person before named, 
was the settler upon the land adjoining on the southeast. 
He came from Newburyport in 1770 with his family, and 
but few of his children were born after he came here. 
When the church was organized, in 1773, he was one of 
the deacons. The time of his death is unknown to us, 
but it was prior to the survey of the island, as his lot was 
assigned to his two sons, Jonathan and Tristram Haskell 
(two hundred acres). He left four sons, namely : Francis, 
who removed to South Thomaston and lived on what is 
known as Ash Point, and died there not far from 1841, 



rOlVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 79 

over ninety years of age ; Jonathan, who lived here till 
his death ; Abijah, before noticed ; and Tristram. Of the 
daughters, one was the wife of Mr. Peter Hardy, Sr. ; one, 
of Mr. William Eaton, 2d ; another married Captain 
Ephraim Marshall ; another was the wife of Deacon Joshua 
Haskell ; another, of Mr. Prescott Powers, and the other, 
that of Captain Francis Marshall. His land was owned 
and occupied by his two sons during their lives, and is 
now chiefly owned by their descendants. 

EzEKiEL Marshall was the settler upon the lot of 
land adjoining that of Mr. Francis Haskell on the south- 
east. He came about the year 1768. He was a con- 
nection of the Haskell family, as I have understood, by 
marriage. There appears to have been an Ephraim Mar- 
shall, also, who came about the same time (probably a 
brother), who did not remain ; and as';Mr. Ephraim had a 
two-hundred-acre lot, it is probable that one hundred acres 
was, by virtue of the right of Ephraim, probably assigned 
to him. His lot took in what has since become the most 
valuable land in that vicinity; and in 1772 he sold Mark 
Haskell, 2d, and his sons, Ignatius and Solomon, what 
has been since known as Haskell's Point, on which the 
stores stand at the Northwest Harbor, and which remained 
the property of Ignatius Haskell till his death. This sale 
was seventeen years prior to the allotment of the land in 
the town by the Tylers, and till that time no individual 
had a title. The purchase was some years before Messrs. 
Mark Haskell & Sons removed here and commenced 
business. Mr. Marshall must have died prior to the sur- 
vey, as the lot is described as belonging to the " Heirs of 
Ezekiel Marshall." His sons were Ephraim, Solomon, 
Joshua, and Francis ; and one of the daughters was the 
wife of Mr. Aaron S. Haskell. 



8o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Jonathan Haskell, the son of Francis, remained here 
till his death in 1830, at the age of seventy-five years. 
His wife was Miss Dorothy Shute, a daughter of the man 
of that name who settled upon Sandy Point, now in the 
town of Stockton. She survived him about twenty years, 
when his real estate was divided among his heirs. Their 
children were Benjamin S., Jonathan, known as " Long 
Metre," Thomas, Francis, and David, — and all are now 
dead. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Daniel Tor- 
rey, John Torrey, Levi Marshall, and Chase Pressey, — 
and they are all dead also. Captain Haskell was for many 
years an enterprising master -mariner and accumulated 
considerable property. His sons also followed the sea for 
many years. 

His son, the late Captain David Haskell, resided on, and 
occupied, his father's premises till the death of his mother, 
and after a division of the property, retained the buildings 
and land around them till his death in 1878. They are 
now occupied by his son and youngest daughter. 

Tristram Haskell, the youngest son of Francis Has- 
kell, remained upon the lot he was entitled to, as heir of 
his father (which was assigned to him), till his death, 
which took place not far from the year i860, when he was 
about ninety years of age. His first wife was Miss Martha 
Merchant, a daughter of Mr. Anthony Merchant, who set- 
tled Merchant's Island, in 1772, now within the limits of 
the town of Isle au Haut, by whom he had six sons and 
two daughters. The sons were : Francis, who was drowned 
in Boston Harbor, in 1838, the father of the present 
Messrs. Tristram and Davis Haskell ; Davis, who lived 
on the road leading from the Northwest Harbor to the 
steamboat - landing, about two miles from the harbor ; 
Tristram, who lived on what is known as Beech Hill, 



rOlV.V OF DEE A' ISLE, MAINE. 8 I 

about one mile from the harbor ; Peter, who lived on Little 
Deer Isle ; John R., the father of the present Captain Syl- 
vanus G. Haskell ; and Joshua P., who died in 1880, aged 
seventy-seven years. The last named was for some 
time in the British navy, and was present at the battle of 
Navarino, in 1824, in which a complete victory was 
obtained by the British fleet over the Turks, in the war 
which secured the independence of the Greeks. For 
many years he resided in Liverpool, England. Of 
the daughters, one was the wife of the late Mr. James 
Stinson ; the other married in Massachusetts. His first 
wife died in 1803, and Captain Haskell married Miss Bet- 
sey Barton, by whom he had four sons and four daughters. 
The sons were the late Captain William Haskell, George 
W., and John, and one who died in childhood. The daugh- 
ters were the wives of Captain Adam Thompson, Jr., Mr. 
Frederick S. Pressey, Mr. P>ederick Eaton, and Mr. Edwin 
B. Spofford. Of the above none of the first family is 
now living, and of the last, Captain John Haskell and the 
four sisters. After the death of his second wif^ in 1835 
Captain Haskell married his third wife, a Mrs. Tuttle, a 
daughter of ]\Ir. Ik-njamin Weed, and in about the year 
i860 died, aged about ninety years. For many years he 
was a master-mariner, but, being troubled with deafness, 
was obliged to abandon the sea. 

Ei'HK.MM Marshall was the eldest of the sons of Mr. 
Ezekiel Marshall, who has been mentioned, and his wife 
was a daughter of Mr. Francis Haskell, by whom he had 
two sons, Ephraim and Ezekiel, and four daughters, — and 
all are now dead. He lived on the southern side of the 
road leading toward the Reach, not far from the place 
occupied by the house — now burnt down — built and occu- 
pied by Captain David P. Marshall, who removed from 



82 ^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

this place a few years ago. Another son of the Marshall 
family was Joshua, the father of the present Mr. Ezekiel 
Marshall, the oldest man now among us, born in 1790. 
Another was Mr. Solomon Marshall, who lived on the 
southwest side of the Northwest Harbor, who left one 
son, Mark Marshall, and two daughters, Mrs. Hanson and 
Mrs. Murray, all of whom are now dead. Captain Francis 
Marshall was the youngest son. His first wife was, as we 
have mentioned, a daughter of Mr. Levi Carman, who 
lived with him but a few years. He afterward married 
Miss Abigail Haskell, the daughter of Deacon Francis 
Haskell, by whom he had two sons, Elias D. and the late 
Francis Marshall, who survived him, and three daughters, 
one of whom was the wife of Thomas Lamson, Esq., of 
Boston. The present Hon. Edwin D. Lamson, of Rich- 
mond, Maine, is a son of hers. Another daughter 
remained unmarried, Hannah, who lived here, and the 
other, Mrs. Joy, who resided in Boston. Of the family 
only one, Elias D. Marshall, is now living. 

Mark Haskell, the second of the name, came here 
with his family in 1778, having some six years before pur- 
chased the land they occupied of Ezekiel Marshall. He 
was a native of what was then known as Sandy Bay, in 
the present town of Rockport, Massachusetts, but after- 
ward removed to Newburyport, from which place he 
came here, and commenced business with his two sons, 
Ignatius and Solomon. He was born in 1723, and his 
wife was Miss Abigail Bray, a sister of the first man of 
the name who came here. They had quite a large family, 
some of whom died in childhood. The survivors were 
Ignatius, Solomon, Joshua, and Edward, and three daugh- 
ters : one the wife of Mr. Jeremiah Eaton, another that 
of Nathan Haskell, Esq., — both of whom have been 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 83 

noticed, — and another that of Mr. Elijah Dunham. 
They built a saw and grist mill, which was a great 
convenience to the inhabitants, and the sawmill of profit 
to the owners, as there were then logs in abundance to be 
manufactured into lumber ; they also built houses and a 
store. The saw and grist mills stood until about twenty- 
five years ago, and then were the property of John P. John- 
son, Esq. Mr. Haskell took his two eldest sons, Ignatius 
and Solomon, into partnership, and the firm was known as 
"Messrs. Mark Haskell & Sons." They built several ves- 
sels. One was a ship of about four hundred tons, a large 
one for those days, besides brigs and schooners, and they 
accumulated, for the times, a large property, owning at one 
time more than one thousand acres of land. Solomon, the 
junior copartner, removed to Newburyport, and did busi- 
ness many years, in which his father and brother had an 
interest. After the death of their father, which took place 
in 1 8 10, the copartnership was dissolved, and he (Solomon) 
remained there till his death in 1828, but had a consider- 
able interest in the real estate here with his brother, and 
at the time of his death was a deacon in the church, of 
which the then well-known Rev. Mr. Milton was pastor. 

Ig.vatius H.\ski:ll, M^q., after the death of his father, 
did the business here, and for the times and locality it 
was quite extensive, in trading and building vessels, for 
several years. He was a man who had a large share of 
business capacity, and for a long time was the foremost 
man in the community, and had great influence, own- 
ing a large property and taking great interest in the 
affairs of the town and church. He built a meeting-house 
not far from the year 1800 at his own expense, selling 
the pews to those who were disposed to purchase. He 
was one of the earliest justices of the peace here, was often 



84 ^-^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

one of the selectmen, and was in 1819 a delegate to Port- 
land with Asa Green, before named, to the convention to 
frame the State Constitution. Till the time of his death 
in 1842, at the age of ninety-one years, he retained his 
faculties in a remarkable degree. His wife was Miss 
Mary Stickney, of Newburyport, by whom he had four 
sons and five daughters. The sons were Aaron S., Mark, 
Ignatius, Jr., and Solomon, all of whom are still well 
remembered. The daughters were the wives of Mr. John 
Foster, Dr. David Angell, Mr. Jonathan L. Stevens, of 
Castine, Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., who resided here many 
years, afterward removing to Castine and after some years 
returned ; and the youngest was the wife of Dr. Theophi- 
lus Doe, of Brewer. After the death of his wife, the 
subject of this sketch married the widow of Mr. Moses 
Gross, whose maiden name was Martha Pritchard, born in 
Boston, in 1773. At the time of his death he left the 
largest property of any one in the town, a large portion of 
which was real estate, most of which has now passed into 
other hands. His house, which he built not far from the 
year 1790, is now the property of his granddaughter, the 
widow of the late Captain William Haskell. 

Ezra Howard was the settler upon the lot of land 
adjoining that of Mr. Ezekiel Marshall and that purchased 
of him by Mark Haskell on the southeast. He came here 
early, but the exact year is to us unknown, nor have we 
ever known from what place he removed here. He had 
three sons and four daughters, of whom we have had 
knowledge : one was the Mr. John Howard we have 
already noticed ; another was Mr. Michael Howard, who 
lived and died at what is known as " Fish Creek," the 
father of the late Mr. Samuel and the present Mr. Thomas 
V. Howard ; and one named Benjamin, who removed from 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 85 

here to Newburyport in 181 2, where he died. One 
daughter was the wife of Mr. Chase Pressey ; another 
was the wife of Mr. Paul Pressey ; another, that of Mr. 
Dominicus Carman ; and the other, of Mr. James Parker, 
who formerly resided here, and was the father of John H. 
Parker, Esq., who formerly resided in the town of Mt. 
Desert. After the death of his wife, Mr. Howard married 
a Mrs. Johnson ; and her two daughters by her former 
husband were the wives of Deacon Nehemiah Closson 
and the first wife of Mr. George G. Choate. The year of 
the death of Mr. Howard is not to us known, and his estate 
passed by purchase of his heirs to Ignatius Haskell, Esq.; 
with the exception of a house-lot none of it was owned 
by his descendants after his death. 

Ambrose Colby was the occupant of the lot lying 
on the southeast of that of Mr. Howard. He came from 
the vicinity of Newburyport not far from 1768, and after 
he came he married a daughter of Mr. John Pressey. He 
died not far from the year 1800, and his wife survived him 
till 1844, and was at the time of her death aged ninety-two 
years. He built a large house opposite the present Con- 
gregational Church, upon the site now occupied by the 
house of Mr. Frederick H. Gross, and it was for many 
years occupied by Mr. Amos Gordon, who married a 
daughter of Mr. Colby. He left two sons, Messrs. Heze- 
kiah and Ambrose Colby, and the daughter referred to, 
who was first the wife of Mr. William Torrey, by whom 
she had two sons, Hezekiah and William Torrey, and a 
daughter, the first wife of John P. Johnson, Esq. Heze- 
kiah Torrey was, in 1822, the representative of this town 
to the Legislature, and afterward removed to Belfast, where 
he died in 1824, much esteemed. The other son, Mr. 
William Torrey, died on his passage to California, not far 



86 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

from the year 1850, and was at the time of his death over 
fifty years of age. By her second marriage she had two 
sons and two daughters who survived her : Mr. Ambrose 
C. Gordon, who died in 1880; Captain John Gordon, who 
died in Bluehill, to which place he had removed. The 
two daughters were the wives of Mr. Levi Carman and 
Captain Joseph W. Pressey, and they both are now dead. 
Mr. Gordon, the husband of the daughter of Mr. Colby, 
came here from Biddeford, Maine, where his relatives still 
reside. He died several years ago, and none of that name 
are left in the town. 

The lot of land adjoining that of Mr. Colby on the 
southeast was what is still known as the "parsonage." It 
contained originally four hundred acres, and was granted 
by the General Court of Massachusetts to the first religious 
society and the first settled minister. Rev. Peter Powers, 
the first settled minister, became proprietor of that part 
of the land, and settled upon the southeastern side of the 
lot, and after his death, in 1800, it passed into the hands of 
his son, Mr. Prescott Powers, and the farm of Mr. Levi 
Greenlaw is a part of it. More will be said of the Rev, 
Mr. Powers in the part of this work in which the religious 
societies in the town are noticed. 

Nathaniel Bray and Robert Nason were the settlers 
upon the lot of land containing, according to Peters's plan 
of the town, over two hundred and fifty acres, which 
adjoined the parsonage lot on the southeast. They both 
came here not far from 1768, and were, we believe, con- 
nected by marriage. Mr. Bray settled upon the western 
part of the lot ; he was a brother of the wife of Captain 
Mark Haskell. Mr. Bray was the father of Nathaniel and 
William Bray, and his daughters were the wives of Mr. 
Benjamin Cole, who occupied the lot of land adjoining 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 87 

that of Deacon Joshua Haskell ; of Mr. Willaby Nason ; 
of Mr. Edward Howard, of Brooksville ; of Mr. Peter 
Perry, and of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, 2d. 

Mr, Nason occupied the eastern part of the lot, and it 
was the farm since owned by Mr. Ezekiel Marshall. Of 
him but little is known. One of his sons, Mr. Willaby 
Nason, lived here a number of years, and afterward 
removed to the town of Knox, in Waldo County, where 
he died. A daughter of Mr. Nason, Sr. was the wife 
of Mr. Nathaniel Bray, Jr., and mother of Messrs. Robert, 
Jonathan, Nathaniel, John N., Daniel, Willaby N., and 
Isaac Bray. The daughters were the wives of Jeremiah 
and Andrew Gray, and Mr. David Campbell, who removed 
to the British provinces. Mrs. Bray died several years 
ago, and all her children are now dead. Four of her sons 
died very suddenly, and so have some of her grandchildren. 

On the western side of the Northwest Harbor the first 
settlement was made not long after the first made in the 
town, by Mr. John Pressey, as early perhaps as 1765. 
He came from Salisbury, Massachusetts, or some place in 
that vicinity, as that was the residence of his wife, whose 
maiden name was Chase — one of the "Chase heirs" 
about whom much was said not far from the year 1845. 
He must been past middle age at the time of his coming, 
and the time of his death is not to us known. His 
house was near the shore, and his remains lie not far 
from the edge of the bank. His sons were John, Jr., 
Chase, and Paul Pressey. One of his daughters was the 
Mrs. Colby before mentioned, and another was the wife 
of Mr. Nathan Johnson and mother of the present John 
P. Johnson, Esq., who is now (i8<Si) eighty-four years 
of age. The name was originally " Percy," as appeared 
from what was known as a coat-of-arms which was kept 
in the family many years. 



88 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

John Pressey, Jr. settled upon the lot of land adjoin- 
ing that of his father upon the southwest, and we should 
judge had a family at the time of his removal. His death 
was caused by a tree falling upon him while chopping, but 
the time of its occurrence is not to us known. His chil- 
dren were : John Pressey, 3d, the father of Mr. Henry 
Pressey, who was lost in 1849 or 1850, in the schooner 
Tamerlane, Captain John G. Green, master. His daugh- 
ters were the wives of Mr. John Howard, before noticed ; 
Mr. Joseph Webster, of North Haven, and Mr. Michael 
Howard, the son of Mr. Ezra Howard ; another was never 
married, whose name was Mercy Pressey. She for many 
years resided with Mr. Nathan Crockett, as housekeeper, 
who at his decease made provision for her support. 

The farm of Mr. John Pressey, Jr. was divided, and one 
part of it is now the property of Mr. Aaron D. Pickering 
and the remainder was that of Mr. Jonathan Pressey at 
the time of his death. 

Thomas Saunders, who came here from Amesbury 
in the State of Massachusetts, settled upon the lot of land 
lying westerly of, and adjoining, that of Mr. John Pressey, 
Jr. His wife was Miss Hephzibah Chase, of Salisbury, 
Massachusetts, and they were married in Hampton, New 
Hampshire, in 1755; in 1757 they moved to Amesbury, 
.and came here in 1771. His wife and that of Mr. John 
Pressey were sisters. Mr. Saunders was drowned near 
the mouth of the Northwest Harbor in June, 1786, while 
•engaged in towing some logs which were to be manufac- 
tured into pumps for the purpose of pumping salt water 
for the manufacture of salt. He left two sons, Messrs. 
James and Timothy Saunders, and two daughters, one the 
wife of Mr. John Dow ; another, that of Mr. Thomas 
Small, Jr. His farm passed into the hands of his sons, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 89 

who occupied it till they died. It now is the property 
of their descendants. The wife of Mr. James Saunders 
was Susan Webb, a daughter of Mr. Seth Webb, one 
of the early settlers ; that of Mr. Timothy Saunders was 
Ann Staples, the daughter of the person of that name 
before noticed as having been impressed into the British 
service during the war of the Revolution. 

The children of Mr. James Saunders were Thomas and 
James, the sons ; and the daughters were the wives of 
Messrs. Crowell H. Sylvester, Joseph Whitmore, and 
afterward of Dr. Robert Young, a practitioner of medi- 
cine, who made the treatment of cancers a specialty. 
After his death she was that of Jonah Dodge, of Brook- 
lin, Maine, and lastly, that of Mr. Sylvester, the husband 
of her sister, and she was four times a widow. Another 
was that of Mr. John Averill, of Castine, and afterward 
that of Mr. Josiah B. Woods, of the same place. Another 
was that of Captain Henry Lufkin, Jr.; another, that of 
Captain Joseph R. Lufkin ; and another, that of Mr. Ben- 
jamin Lufkin, — all of whom are now dead, with the 
exception of the widow of Captain J. R. Lufkin, who is 
now (1882) eighty-one years of age. 

The children of Mr. Timothy Saunders were Samuel, 
John, Asa, and Timothy, sons ; the daughters were the 
wives of Messrs. Thomas, Ezra, and Joshua Pressey, and 
Captain David Haskell ; all the family are now dead. 

JoN.\TiL\N Eaton, a native of Haverhill, Massachu- 
setts, was the settler upon the lot of land adjoining that 
of Mr. Saunders on the west. He was the youngest 
brother, of Mr. Theophilus Eaton and was born in 1746. 
His father dying in his childhood, he was brought up by 
his eldest brother Theophilus. His wife was Miss Diana 
Dow, a daughter of Mr. Nathan Dow, with whom he came 



90 



A.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



here in 1767, having previously married ; and in the year 
of his removal his eldest son was born here. He was a 
man of enterprise and, as it has been stated, was engaged 
in the business of boiling salt. He died in 1805, at the 
age of fifty-nine years. His children were : Joseph, who 
lived and died in Sedgwick ; Jonathan ; John, who was 
drowned in 18 14, while engaged with Mr. Joseph Whit- 
more, Jr. and a Mr. Brown, of Vinal Haven, in taking a 
cow across the bay to Vinal Haven in a boat. Their bodies 
were never found, but that of the cow came ashore on 
what is called Sellers's Point. Another son was the late 
Mr. Nathan Eaton, who occupied the homestead of his 
father. Another was James Eaton, who removed to the 
town of Prospect, where he lived till his death. The 
daughters were the wives of Mr. Joseph Weed, Mr. 
William Weed, and Mr. Samuel Webb. The house 
built by Mr. Eaton is still standing and has recently 
been thoroughly repaired ; it is now more than ninety 
years old. 

Elijah Dunham, Sr., with his sons Elijah and Joseph 
Dunham occupied the lot westerly of that of Mr. Eaton, 
on what is still known as Dunham's Point, upon which is 
located the silver-mine, which is being operated. Mr. 
Dunham was twice married, and by his first wife he had 
the two sons mentioned and a daughter, the wife of Mr. 
Samuel Pickering and the mother of the late Captain 
Samuel and Mr. Daniel Pickering. Mr. Pickering settled 
what is known as Pickering's Island, lying northwesterly 
of Deer Island, which is not included within the territorial 
limits of the town. By his last wife Mr. Dunham had 
one son, the late Mr. Elisha H. Dunham, and two daugh- 
ters. He did not remain long on the lot taken up by him, 
and it came into the possession of Messrs. Mark Haskell 



TO IVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. g I 

& Sons, and was the property of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
at his death. Mr, Dunham lived upon several other lots 
of land. He died in this town at an advanced age. His 
son Elijah Dunham, Jr. was three times married : first, to 
the daughter of Captain Mark Haskell, by whom he had 
one son and three daughters ; his second wife was the 
mother of Mr. George G. Choate ; his last wife was Miss 
Polly Morey, a daughter of Mr. Elias Morey. He died in 
1852, at the age of ninety years. 

Mr. Joseph Dunham married the widow of Mr. Charles 
Chatto, and died not long after the year 1830. The lot 
taken up by them is now owned principally by Mr. Ebene- 
zer J. Eaton. 

Chase Pressev, a son of Mr. John Pressey, Sr., settled 
the lot of land adjoining that of his father upon the south- 
east. His wife was the daughter of Mr. Ezra Howard, 
who was one of the early settlers near the Northwest 
Harbor. Mr. Pressey died not far from the year 1830, 
and his widow in 1841. His sons were Thomas, Jonathan, 
Ezra, Joshua, and Jeremiah. His daughters were the 
wives of Messrs. Michael Ready, Nathan Eaton, Edward 
B. Eaton, and Michael Howard, 2d. His farm, as also 
that of his father, is principally owned and occupied by 
his descendants. 

Paul Pkessev, a brother of the last-named settler, 
occupied the lot adjoining on the southeast. It was taken 
up early by Mr. Lot Curtis, and his right was acquired by 
Mr. Pressey. His wife was a daughter of Mr. Ezra How- 
ard, and their children were Pearl S., Elbridge G., Calvin, 
the wife of Mr. David Sawyer, Jr., and a sister who resided 
in Boston. The sons remained here, with the exception 
of Elbridge, who removed to Castine, where he was living 
a few years since. He is the sole survivor of the family. 



92 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



His real estate passed into the hands of the late Pearl 
Spofford, Esq., principally, and a large portion is now- 
owned by Hon. C. A. Spofford. It is still known as the 
Paul Pressey lot. 

John Hooper was the settler who occupied the lot 
adjoining that of Paul Pressey on the southeast, but it 
stands in the name of William Hooper upon Peters's plan, 
who probably acquired a right to the lot through John 
Hooper. William Hooper was known as Captain Hooper, 
and he removed to the town of Brooklin, where his de- 
scendants still reside, but none of that name remain here. 
A part of his farm passed into the possession of Mr. 
Nathan Johnson, who was here prior to 1784, and it was 
the estate occupied by his son, the late Mr. Daniel John- 
son, and now by his son and daughter. The other part of 
the Hooper lot was purchased by Mr. John Whitmore, 
and by him sold to Captain Richard Greenlaw. It is now 
owned and occupied by Captain Thomas R. Greenlaw. 

Nathan Johnson came here, as has been stated, prior 
to 1784, but there seems to have been no settler's right 
assigned him, probably because he had not taken up a lot. 
He was for many years a school-teacher, and was known 
as "Master Johnson." His wife was the youngest daugh- 
ter of Mr. John Pressey, Sr. Their children were Dan- 
iel and John P., sons. The daughters were the wives 
of Captain Joseph Raynes and Mr. Ebenezer Greenlaw, 
formerly the wife of Mr. Abner Babbidge, who was lost 
in the schooner Shakespeare, Captain John Green, master, 
in 1 8 18. Another daughter, Lucy, married quite late in 
life, and another, Mary Johnson, died unmarried. Mr. 
Johnson died soon after 1800, and his widow survived him 
not many years. 



TOW.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 93 

EzEKiEL MoREY was One of the very early settlers. 
He came not far from 1787, from New Meadows River, 
in the vicinity of Brunswick, Maine. From what infor- 
mation I have been able to gain, he built the first frame- 
house in the town. Mr. Morey was twice married, had a 
large family, thirteen children surviving him ; the time 
of his death I have not learned. After his death the prin- 
cipal part of his farm, a large and valuable one, passed into 
the hands of the late Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., by purchase 
of his heirs, who built a house upon it, which was after- 
ward purchased by the late Joseph Sellers, 3d, and now is 
the estate of his two deceased sons, George W. and Mark 
H. Sellers, and the lot they own contains some six acres. 
The residue Mr. Rowell sold to various persons, who have 
built upon their respective lots. His sons who survived 
him were Elias, Ezekiel, Isaac, Joseph, and James. The 
daughters were the wives of Mr. Charles Sellers, of this 
town ; a Mr. Calderwood, of Vinal Haven ; two were the 
wives of a Mr. Wooster, of the same place ; one of a Mr. 
Edson ; one of a Mr. Sweet ; one of a Mr. Day, who resided 
on the island of Mount Desert ; and the youngest of the 
late Mr. Joseph Noyes, of this town, a native of Atkinson, 
New Hampshire, who came in 1804, and died not far from 
1850. Mrs. Noyes survived her husband a few years. She 
was a lady held in much respect, a sincere Christian, 
and beloved by all who knew her. All of the above sons 
and daughters, except Mr. Elias Morey and Mrs. Sellers 
and Mrs. Noyes removed from this place : Ezekiel and 
Isaac to the town of Hope, Maine, and afterward to the 
State of Ohio ; Joseph lived and died in Castine, and 
James lived in the town of Levant, not far from Bangor. 
Mr. Elias Morey died not far from the year 1844; Mrs. 
Sellers in 1832, aged eighty-three. The children of Mr. 



94 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Noyes, with one exception, have removed from this town, 
and the land and buildings he occupied are now owned by- 
Mr. William C. Gray. Mr. Morey, the father, was a man 
very tall of stature, being nearly seven feet in height, and 
was a very worthy man, 

William Babbidge was the first settler upon the lot of 
land adjoining that of Mr. Morey on the east. He came 
very early — prior to 1770; and was a brother to Mr. 
Courtney Babbidge, who came some years after, and re- 
sided near the Southeast Harbor. Mr. William Babbidge 
sold out his right to Mr. Joshua Haskell, a brother of 
Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and took up another lot of land, 
on what is known as Babbidge's Neck, which was a few 
years ago occupied by Mr. Seth Hatch and the late Cap- 
tain John Greenlaw. The farm of Mr. Hatch was after 
his death occupied by his son, the late Captain Jeremiah 
Hatch. Mr. Babbidge left no son, but five daughters, who 
were the wives of Mr. William Greenlaw, Mr. Samuel 
Stinson, Mr. Joseph Whitmore, Mr. Seth Hatch, and Mr. 
Samuel Staples. After the death of her husband Mrs. 
Babbidge became the wife of Mr. Thomas Robbins, Sr. 

Joshua Haskell, the resident of the land taken up by 
Mr. Babbidge, came when a young man not twenty years 
old with his father, Captain Mark Haskell. His wife was 
a daughter of Deacon Francis Haskell, before noticed. 
He was for many years a deacon in the Congregational 
Church, and was known as "Deacon Joshua." His sons 
were : Joshua, who for many years tended the gristmill at 
the Northwest Harbor ; Thomas, a master ship-carpenter ; 
Mark, who died when a young man ; Edward, who died 
not far from the year 1862; and Ignatius, the father of 
the present Captain George C. Haskell. The daughters 
were the wives of Mr. Jonathan Webster, who removed to 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 95 

Castine, where she died not far from 1824; another, that 
of Mr. Samuel Noyes, who was a brother of Mr. Joseph 
Noyes, and came with him here. He was a noted ship- 
wright for many years, and was well known as " Master 
Noyes." He lived for many years, and died in Castine. 
Another was the wife of Mr. Joseph Sellers, 3d, who died 
here, and the youngest was that of John Turner, Esq., of 
Isle au Haut, who is still living. The others are all now 
dead. Deacon Haskell, at the time of his death, which 
took place not long after the year 1830, owned a large and 
valuable farm, which came into the possession of his heirs. 
He was a man much respected by all who knew him, 
being considered an upright man. His widow survived 
him till 1842. 

Benjamin Cole was the settler upon the lot of land 
adjoining that of Joshua Haskell. He came early, 
between the years 1767 and 1770. About him but little 
is known, nor do we know from what place he came here. 
He had one son, who occupied the lot of land taken up 
by him, of the same name, Benjamin, who came with him. 
They both had settlers' rights, and one of them was 
located near P^ish Creek, and the farm now occupied by 
Mr. Joseph S. Greenlaw is a part of it ; the remainder is 
now occupied by Mr. Benjamin Cole, the great-grandson 
of the first named. The time of the death of Mr. Cole is 
not to us known. His daughter was the wife of Mr. 
Abijah Haskell, a son of Deacon Francis Haskell, and we 
have no knowledge of any more of the family, if any 
there were. His son Benjamin married a daughter of 
Nathaniel Bray, Sr., and their sons were : Benjamin, the 
father of the present Mr. Enos Cole ; Joseph, who lived 
near the Town House ; Willard, who lived at Fish Creek, 
on the farm now occupied by his son Benjamin ; Nathaniel ; 



96 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

and one who died many years ago, of the name of Jona- 
than. The daughters were : one, the wife of the late 
Captain Samuel Pickering ; another, that of Mr. Willard 
Bray. None of the family now remains. Mr. Benja- 
min Cole, Jr. was for many years sexton of the first parish 
in the town, and after his death, Mr. William Morey offici- 
ated in that capacity till the time of his death. The farm 
of Mr. Cole is in part now owned by his descendants. 

Joshua Emerson, a native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, 
was the first settler upon the lot of land lying south of 
that taken up by Elijah Dunham, on what is known as 
Dunham's Point. He came some time prior to the year 
1790, but probably was not here in season to be considered 
as entitled to a right by settlement, — prior to 1784, — and 
he was one of the class styled "young settlers." He 
built a sawmill at the outlet of the cove, near the property 
now occupied by Captain Benjamin J. Sylvester, and it is 
still known as "Emerson's Mill Pond." He resided on 
the lot taken up by him, which was afterward occupied by 
the late Mr. Crowell H. Sylvester, and upon which he (Mr. 
Sylvester) lived till his death in 1863. Mr. Emerson con- 
veyed his property to Major David Coffin, of Newbury- 
port, Massachusetts, who lived several years in Castine, 
where he died in 1838. In 1807 Mr. Emerson left his farm 
and moved on to a fifty-acre lot, which, in 1795, he had pur- 
chased of Ephraim Packard, of Beverly, Massachusetts, 
and is now occupied by Mr. Samuel Dunham, where he 
died in 18 10. His wife was Hannah, the daughter of Mr. 
Seth Webb, who will be noticed, who occupied the farm 
till her death in 1838. Their children were: Seth, who 
died in 1827 ; Joshua, who died in 1842 ; Samuel, who died 
not many years ago, in Islesborough ; and William, a 
young man, whose death was caused by lockjaw, about 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 97 

the year 1821. The daughters were the wives of Mr. 
Daniel Allen, Samuel Allen, Jr., and a Mr. Cummings, of 
Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, who left her a widow. 
She afterward married a Mr. Edward Alexander. But 
one only of the family, the wife of Captain Samuel Allen, 
is now living. 

Samuel Trundy was the occupant of the lot of land 
lying on the south side of Emerson's Mill Pond and at the 
head of the Southwest Harbor. He was a native of Cape 
Elizabeth, Maine, and came here in 1765 — the first per- 
son who made a settlement upon the west side of the 
island and southwesterly of the Northwest Harbor, except 
Mr. John Pressey and his son John Pressey, Jr. A former 
neighbor of his, Mr. Thomas Small, came east intending 
to settle in the present town of Bluehill, and on his way 
anchored in the Northwest Harbor, came over to see 
him, and was by him persuaded to remain ; this was in 
1767, and at that time Mr. Pressey had made his settle- 
ment. Mr. Trundy's mother came with him and was his 
housekeeper for a few years, when her other son, Mr. 
George Trundy, came and removed her to his home. 
Their father was a native of Holland and died when a 
young man, leaving two sons. The wife of Mr. Samuel 
Trundy was Miss Ann Carey, and they were the parents 
of fourteen children and grandparents of one hundred 
and twenty. Eleven of their children had families. Eive 
of them had twelve children each ; two had eleven each ; 
three, ten each; and one, eight. Mr. Trundy died in 1805. 
His widow became the wife of Mr. James Jordan, who 
died in 181 8; she afterward married Mr. Jeremiah 
Stover, who outlived her, she dying in 1826. The 
children of Mr. Trundy were : Daniel, who died in 1835, 
in Dover, Maine ; Samuel, who died in Newburyport ; 



98 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Thomas, who died in 1846; and John, in 1859, i^^ Rock- 
land. The daughters were the wives of Messrs. Peletiah 
Barter, Abner Lane, David Thurlow, Daniel Crockett, 
Jonathan Pressey, John Whitmore, and Hon. Richard 
Warren, — all of whom are now dead. 

John Rayxes, Sr. and his sons John, Johnson, and 
William Raynes settled the lot of land lying south of that 
of Mr. Trundy. They were natives of York, Maine, and 
came here in 1772, in company with two of the same 
name, Messrs. Samuel and James Raynes, who were rela- 
tives of theirs. Mr. John Raynes, Sr. lived not many 
years after he came here. His wife was also a native of 
York, and her name before marriage was Abigail Harmon. 
Their children were the three sons who came with him. 
One of the daughters was the wife of Mr. Anthony 
Merchant, the person who settled what is known as Mer- 
chant's Island, now included in the limits of the town of 
Isle au Haut, who came about the same time. One 
daughter was Mrs. Mary Kingsley, who remained in York. 
Another was the wife of Mr. Joshua Staples ; another 
whose name was Miriam, remained unmarried. The ances- 
tor of Mr. Raynes was Francis Raynes, one of the earlier 
inhabitants of York, as his name is found in Williamson's 
History of Maine as one of the persons residing there in 
1653, when the town was incorporated. His son, John 
Raynes, 2d, was born in 1753, and he was a master-mari- 
ner for several years. His wife was Sarah, daughter of 
Mr. Theophilus Eaton, and they lived as husband and wife 
sixty years to a day, being married December 25, 1777, 
and he dying the same day in 1837, ^t the age of eighty- 
four years. He was at Bagaduce at the time of the attack 
by the Americans upon the British in 1779. His sons 
were : William, who died in 1869, at the age of ninety-one 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 99 

years ; John, who removed to Newburyport but returned 
here a few years before his death in 1862; Joseph, who 
died in 1S59; Benjamin, who died in 1861 ; and one named 
Ebenezer, who died in 18 19, in the West Indies, at the 
age of twenty-two years. One of the daughters was the 
wife of Mr. Daniel Lufkin ; another, that of Mr. Stephen 
Babbidge, and afterward that of Mr. Otis Oliver ; and 
there were two who remained unmarried. The wife of 
Captain John Raynes survived him till 1850, dying at the 
age of ninety-one years, retaining her mind and memory 
in a remarkable degree. From her I learned much 
about the earlier settlers. Two days before her death I 
saw her, and her health was then very good for a person 
of her age. Her death took place in the month of Feb- 
ruary, during very cold weather, which is often the cause 
of death to persons of great age. And at that time she 
was the oldest member of the Congregational Church in 
the town. 

Johnson Ravnes, before mentioned, was never mar- 
ried. His house stood on land now owned by Captain 
H. T. Lufkin, about thirty rods west of the town road, 
in the field. His unmarried sister, Miriam, resided with 
him till her death. He was said to be a man of superior 
intelligence, was a great reader, and had a great deal 
of understanding. His brother, William Raynes, married 
Miriam Robinson, a sister to the mother of the late Cap- 
tain Henry Lufkin, who died very suddenly, in 1868. 
Their children were Edward and Johnson Raynes, the 
latter of whom died in 1S73. One of the daughters was 
the wife of Mr. Asa B. Eaton, and mother of Captain 
William R. Eaton, who formerly resided here, and now in 
Newburyport. Another was the former wife of Mr. Asa 
Saunders, and mother of Captain Ebenezer Saunders, of 



lOO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

this town. Another was that of Mr. William Atherton, 
of Mount Desert ; another married Mr. Jonathan Pressey, 
Jr. ; and another, named Joanna, remained unmarried. 
None of the family is now living except Mrs. Atherton. 
Mr. William Raynes, some time about the year 1790, sold 
a part of his land to a Mr. Lufkin, of Gloucester, Massa- 
chusetts, who died. After his death, which occurred 
soon after the purchase, it came into the possession of 
his brother, Mr. Benjamin Lufkin, who removed here 
from Gloucester with his family, and built a house near 
that now occupied by Mr. John T. Brown, where he resided 
till his death. Both himself and his wife were members 
of the church in Gloucester of which the celebrated Uni- 
versalist preacher, John Murray, was pastor, it being the 
first church of that denomination in New England. The 
children of Mr. Lufkin were : Benjamin, who lived and died 
in Sedgwick ; Henry, the father of the present Captain 
Mark H. Lufkin; and Daniel, who died in 1871. The 
daughters were the wives of Mr. Abraham Babson, who 
lived near Naskeag Point, now in the town of Brooklin ; 
Mr. Jonah Dodge, of the same town ; a Mr. McMullen, 
of Vinal Haven ; and Mr. Edward Raynes, the eldest son 
of Mr. William Raynes. Mr. Lufkin was by trade a 
shoemaker, and before he came here in 1790 had a shop 
in Gloucester which stood near the site now occupied by 
the Gloucester House. Those of the same name in that 
place at present are relatives of his descendants. 

Samuel Raynes, a nephew of John Raynes, Sr., settled 
upon the lot adjoining that of Captain John Raynes on the 
south. He did not remain many years upon it, but moved 
back to York. His land passed into the hands of Ignatius 
Haskell, Esq., by whom it was sold to the late Captain 
William Raynes, not long after the year 1800, who a few 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. lOl 

years after built a house upon it, which is still standing, 
in which he resided till his death. The property was sold 
to his son, the late A. B. Raynes, who died in Norwich, 
Connecticut, in the year 1881. It is now the property 
of his son, Mr. Charles H. Raynes, of that place. We 
have no knowledge of the time of the death of Samuel 
Raynes, nor of his history after his removal to York. 

James Raynes, a brother of the subject of the preced- 
ing sketch, settled upon the lot of land adjoining that of 
Samuel Raynes on the south. He died not many years 
after he came here, and the property fell into the hands 
of his sister, Anna Raynes, who conveyed it to Mr. 
Ebenezer Webster, a native of Cape Elizabeth, whose 
wife was a sister to the wife of Mr. Job Small. They 
were the parents of Andrew, Joseph, John, and Ebenezer 
Webster, and Mrs. Anna Small, the wife of Captain Eben- 
ezer Small, and another sister, who removed from here. 
Mr. Andrew Webster lived and died in Brooksville. Joseph 
lived in North Haven. John was lost at sea in about 
1815. He was a master-mariner, and at the time of his 
death the son of Mr. Nathaniel Bray, noticed before, 
named Daniel, was one of the crew of the vessel of which 
Cajitain Webster was master. Captain Ebenezer Web- 
ster, Jr. was an enterprising ship-master, and sailed for 
many years in the employ of William Bartlett, Esq., of 
Ncwburyport, a wealthy siiip-owner, in the early part of 
the present century, and after retiring from the sea 
resided in Cape Elizabeth, where his father resided with 
him till his death. I\Ir. Webster sold the land to Mr. 
Job Small, Jr., and from him it was sold to his brother, 
Michael Small, Esq., and by him, in 18 17, to Mr. Charles 
Sellers, one of the early settlers, whom we shall notice, 
who resided upon it till his death ; after that it came 



I02 -'i^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

into the possession of his son, the late Mr. Joseph Sellers, 
2d, and is now owned and occupied by his sons and widow. 
Thomas Small, who came here in 1767 from Cape 
Elizabeth, settled upon the lot of land adjoining that of 
Mr. James Raynes on the south, and did so, as has been 
stated, at the solicitation of Mr. Trundy, as there was no 
other person in the near vicinity at the time : and as Mr. 
Small was an old acquaintance, he was the more desirous 
of having him as a neighbor. A settlement had been 
attempted upon the lot by a man of the name of Martin, 
who had abandoned it, or was about to do so. The land 
taken up by Mr. Small was one of the most valuable lots 
in the town for farming purposes, there being but very 
little waste-land upon it. He first settled near the bar, 
which was across the mouth of what is now known as 
Small's Cove, and it is on the land now occupied by his 
great-grandson, Mr. Enoch Small. He lived upon the lot 
about sixty years, dying in the year 1827, and his wife died 
about the same time, having lived in wedlock about sixty- 
four years. His eldest child, the late Mrs. Mary Lunt, 
was in her fourth year at the time of her parents' removal 
here, and had a very distinct memory respecting it. She 
lived till 1859, dying at the great age of ninety-five years, 
and till her death retained her mind and memory, and 
was one of those who gave me much information respect- 
ing the early settlement of the town ; and in my opinion 
I never found any person of her age who retained her 
mental faculties so clearly. She was the wife of Mr. 
Micajah Lunt, of Newburyport, and the mother of the 
widow of Mr. Avery Fifield, a native of Haverhill, New 
Hampshire, who came here in 1803, or thereabouts, and 
died in the year 1845. He was well known, and took a 
prominent part in affairs here, and had many friends. Mrs. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. IO3 

Fifiekl (lied in 1.S82, at the age of ninety-six years, having 
been born February 6, 1786. Mrs. Lunt was an earnest 
Christian, and in early life united with the church at the 
Northwest Harbor. The other children of Air. Small 
were Thomas, Ebenezer, Benjamin, William, Joseph, Mrs. 
Lunt, before noticed, and the wives of Mr. William 
Sellers, Mr. Joseph Randall, the second son of Mr. George 
G. Choate, Mr. Simon Smith, and of a Mr. Small in Cape 
Elizabeth. After the decease of Mr. Small his property 
was owned by his son Ebenezer, and others of the family, 
and is now in the possession of Mr. Joseph C. Judkins, 
Captain H. F. Cole, Enoch Small, and Captain H. F. 
Lufkin. His son, Thomas Small, Jr., settled upon the 
lot adjoining on the south, as a young settler, and his 
wife was Miss Anna Saunders, the daughter of Mr. 
Thomas Saunders, who has been mentioned. Their 
children were : Thomas, who lived and died in Newbury- 
port ; James, who formerly resided on Plum Island, near 
that place; Reuben, who came to his death by burning, in 
1827; William ; and Joel, who now lives in Islesborough. 
The daughters were the wives of Mr. Jesse Stinson, 
Mr. Charles Barbour, Mr. Hale Powers, and Mr. John 
G. Small, who now resides in Belfast ; the two last- 
named daughters, with Joel Small, are now living. Mr. 
Small, the father, died in 1846, at the age of seventy- 
eight years. 

The second son of Mr. Thomas Small, Sr. was Captain 
Ebenezer Small, a master-mariner, who died in 1827 or 
1828; his wife was Miss Ann Webster, the daughter of 
Mr, Ebenezer Webster ; they were the parents of twelve 
children, namely : Ebenezer, John W., Edward, Ben- 
jamin, Avery, ICnoch, and Joseph W., none of whom is 
now living. The daughters were the wives of Captain 



I04 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



William B. Hatch, formerly of Pembroke, Maine ; Mr. 
Edward Richardson ; Thomas Tyler, who removed to 
Winterport, and died there ; William Tyler, who removed 
to the same place, and was lost at sea ; and the wife of 
Mr. Paul Thurlow, the only one of the family who remains 
here. The wife of Captain Small survived him several 
years. 

The third son of the family of Mr. Thomas Small, Sr. 
was Benjamin Small, who died in 1827, and at the time 
resided at Burnt Cove, on the place afterward owned by 
Mr. Avery Fifield, Jr. His wife was Miss Mary Lunt, of 
Newburyport, to which place she removed with her family 
after the death of her husband. 

The fourth son of the family was William Small, whose 
wife was Lydia, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr. 
His death was caused by a person who represented him- 
self a Thompsonian doctor, not far from the year 1814. 
He was not in good health and consented to put himself 
in the care of this person, going through the process of 
steaming practised by that class of persons ; and the suc- 
ceeding operation was the pouring of cold water over him 
to such an extent that he died in an hour after. The 
doctor, finding what was the result of his practice with 
him, immediately made his escape and had but time barely 
to get away from the island, being followed by the two 
brothers of the deceased, who would perhaps have dealt 
violently with him had they overtaken him, being much 
enraged. 

The only child of Mr. William Small was Lydia, who 
afterward was the wife of Mr. Avery Fifield, Jr. The 
widow married Mr. Israel Dorr, of Frankfort, and they 
remained here till about 1844, when they removed to 
Bucksport. The last son of Mr. Thomas Small's family 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.ILVE. 1 05 

was Joseph Small, who, when a young man, removed to 
Newburyport, where he followed the sea, married, had one 
son, and in 1807 died; his widow afterward became the 
wife of Mr. John Howard, and afterward, that of Mr. 
Samuel Small, after whose death she removed to New- 
buryport. 

Job Small, a brother of Mr. Thomas Small, settled in 
1768 upon the lot of land on the south side of Small's 
Cove not far from the land of his brother. His wife was 
Miss Mercy Wescott, a daughter of the ancestor of all of 
the name in the towns of Castine, Penobscot, and Bluehill, 
and his name was William. A son of his of the same 
name was the grandfather of the present Captain Joseph 
Wescott now residing in Castine, who was for many years 
known as a ship-master, and who resides upon the land 
taken up by his grandfather, who was one of the early 
settlers there prior to the war of the Revolution. Mr. 
Small died early in the present century, and his widow 
died in 1835 at the age of ninety-six years — the oldest 
person in the town at the time. There are but two 
instances of greater longevity among us. The children of 
Mr. Small were: Andrew, who died in 1848, aged eighty- 
four ; Samuel, who died in 1854, aged eighty-six ; Job, who 
lived and died in the town of Stockton, aged nearly eighty 
years; Edward, who died in 1864, aged ninety-four years ; 
Naylor, who died in 1863, aged ninety-one years ; Michael, 
who died in 1837 at the age of fifty-eight years. There 
was but one daughter in the family — Alice, who was the 
wife of Captain John Webster, mentioned before ; she 
died in Portland. The farm of Mr. Small was conveyed 
by him to his son Michael Small, and it is now the prop- 
erty of his son, who resides upon it. 

Cn.\RLES Sellers settled upon the lot of land adjoin- 



I06 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

ing that of Mr. Job Small on the west. He was a native 
of the town of York, Maine. His father followed the sea 
and died when a young man. His widow, with two of her 
sons, Charles and Joseph, came here in 1772. Another 
brother, William, older than the ones we have mentioned, 
remained there for some years, when he came, but not in 
season to be entitled to a lot of land as a settler. Mr. 
Charles Sellers was born in 1750, and his wife was Jerusha, 
the eldest daughter of Mr. Ezekiel Morey. He lived upon 
the farm taken up by him till 1817, when he purchased 
the one taken up by James Raynes, of Michael Small, 
Esq., the then owner, who purchased that which Mr. 
Sellers occupied, it joining his ; and at his death he 
bequeathed it to his two youngest sons. It is now the 
property of Mr. Thomas S. Powers and of the heirs of 
the late Charles T. Powers. Mr. Sellers lived upon the 
place purchased by him till his death in 1834; his wife 
dying in 1832. Their children were : John, who lived and 
died in Vinal Haven ; Charles, who resided in the Province 
of New Brunswick, near the St. Croix River between 
Eastport and Calais ; and Joseph, the youngest son, who 
remained with him and lived upon the place during his 
lifetime, after his removal to it, dying in 1865 at the age 
of seventy-two years ; Martha, the wife of Mr. David 
Torrey, who died in 1879 ^^ the age of ninety-seven years ; 
Susan, the wife of Captain James Torrey, who died in 
1875, aged ninety-one years ; Sarah, the wife of Mr. Seth 
Emerson ; and two were unmarried. 

Joseph Sellers, the brother of the subject of the last 
notice, took up the lot of land adjoining that of his 
brother on the south. He was born in 1752, and at the 
time of his removal here he was twenty years of age. 
His mother lived with him till age and infirmity disquali- 



TOJViV OF DEER ISLE, MALVE. lO/ 

fied her, as a housekeeper, when he married the daughter 
of Thomas Thompson, when he was forty-eight years of 
age. They had nine children ; three sons : Joseph, known 
as Joseph Sellers, 3d, who traded at the Northwest Harbor 
for many years, was interested in navigation, and occupied 
the house in that vicinity known as the Sellers house ; 
he died not far from 1850. Another son was Thomas 
and another William — both of whom are dead. None 
of the daughters remained here ; the youngest married 
Captain Thomas D. Toothaker, who removed to Belfast 
and died at sea. Mr. Sellers died in 1844, at the age of 
ninety-two years ; his farm passed into the hands of his 
eldest son, by whose heirs it was sold. It was the property 
of Mr. Charles T. Powers, at the time of his death in 
1880. Mr. Sellers was for many years one of the board 
of selectmen and was one of the first chosen in 1789. 

JosiAH Crockett was the settler upon the lot of land 
adjoining that of Mr. Joseph Sellers on the east, and the 
body of water adjoining the lot on the east is known as 
Crockett's Cove. He removed here from Portland, then 
known as I'almouth, or that vicinity, not far from 1768. 
His wife was a daughter of Mr. Nathan Dow and a sister 
to the wife of Mr. Jonathan Eaton. He was a singular 
man, and the date of his death is not to us known. He 
took up a lot, and when the survey of the town was made, 
one of two hundred and twelve acres was assigned him. 
Why he had one so large is not known to us. He had 
claimed other lots, but no other was run out to him. He 
sold one hundred acres to Mr. Ephraim Packard, of Bev- 
erly, Massachusetts, who in 1795, as we have stated, sold 
fifty acres to Mr. Joshua Emerson ; the balance is still 
known as the Packard Lot. It was sold for non-payment 
of taxes in 1833 and became the property of Mr. Joseph 



I08 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Sellers, 3d, and is now owned by Captain Stephen B. 
Morey. The land owned by Mr. Crockett at the time of 
his death came into the possession of his son, Mr. Nathan 
Crockett, and it is now owned by the heirs of the late Mr. 
Edmund S. Stinson. The children of Mr. Crockett were : 
Nathan, Ephraim, and Sarah — the last of whom became 
the wife of Mr. William Webb, and afterward, that of 
Deacon William Stinson before noticed. 

Captain Robinson Crockett, a brother of the person 
last noticed, came here in 1785 with a family, and remained 
here till his death. He was not entitled to a lot of land 
as one of the early settlers, but must have been one styled 
as "young settlers." He took up a lot lying east of, and 
adjoining, the lot of Mr. Samuel Trundy, and the home- 
stead of Captain Mark H. Lufkin is a part of it, as also 
that owned by the late Captain James Saunders. The 
time of his death is unknown to us. His children were : 
Samuel, who the latter part of his life resided in the town 
of Prospect, and died there, and whose wife was the widow 
of Mr. Thomas Robbins, Jr., who resided near the bar 
leading to Stinson's Neck. Another was Mr. Robinson 
Crockett, whose wife was a daughter of Mr. Thomas Con- 
ary, and who for many years resided on Stinson's Neck, 
and tended a sawmill of which he was part owner ; after 
that he removed to Little Deer Island ; thence to 
Brooksville, where he died not far from 1850, aged over 
eighty years. Another was Joseph, whose wife was a 
sister of the wives of Mr. Elias Morey, William Raynes, 
and Captain Henry Lufkin, and who removed to St. 
Andrews, in the Province of New Brunswick. Another 
was Richard, the father of the present Captain L. B. 
Crockett, who for many years tended a sawmill near 
what is known as the " Barbour farm," a part of which 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 1 09 

he was owner. The other son was the late Mr. Eph- 
raim Crockett, who for many years lived on Stinson's 
Neck, on the farm now owned by Mr. Josiah C. Webb, 
and who afterward removed to Rockport, Maine, — a part 
of the town of Camden, — where he died. The daughters 
were the wives of Messrs. Andrew Small, Samuel Small, 
David Sawyer, and William Morey, and the last was the 
mother of the present Mr. Levi B. Morey. Captain 
Crockett, the subject of this sketch, was, before he came 
here, a master-mariner sailing from Falmouth. 

James Jordan came to this town, from what I have 
been able to learn, some time prior to 1790, but not in 
season to have a settler's lot laid out to him ; the place 
of his birth is not known to us. He resided for many 
years on Sable Island, lying east of the Province of Nova 
Scotia, in the employ of the government of Great Britain. 
He was there for the purpose of aiding crews of vessels 
who were wrecked upon the shoals around it, as in those 
days it was considered a dangerous place, as it is a long, 
low island, not discernible at a great distance, and there 
are two dangerous bars, one at the eastern, and the other 
at the western, end, upon which a vessel would strike 
when at considerable distance from the island. It is 
in the track of vessels bound from Europe to Halifa.x, and 
to the ports lying adjacent to the Bay of Fundy. There 
were huts erected for the accommodation of such persons 
as might be wrecked, and there were horses kept upon 
the island, which subsisted upon a sort of grass growing 
there. It was his duty while there to ride each day 
from end to end of the island, to ascertain whether any 
one needed assistance. For their subsistence the island 
was visited from time to time, by persons in the employ 
of the government, and supplies left there for such as 



no AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

might need them. How long he remained there we do 
not know, but he removed to some place in this State 
before he came here. His eldest daughter was the wife 
of a Mr. Grover, who lived and died in the town of Bow- 
doinham, in Sagadahoc County. He for many years re- 
sided on what was known as Sheep Island, or is now 
known as Jordan's Island, which was a part of the settlers' 
rights of Messrs. James and Timothy Saunders, of whom 
it was purchased ; afterward he removed to a lot of 
land he purchased of Mr. Samuel Trundy, whose widow 
he afterward married. He died in 1818, at the age of 
eighty-six years, of a cancer on his lip. His sons were 
Ebenezer Jordan, who died in 1839, ^^^1 Mr. Samuel 
Jordan, who lived in Sedgwick. The daughters were the 
Mrs. Grover, above mentioned, and the wives of Messrs. 
Daniel Trundy, James Eaton, the son of Theophilus, and 
Richard Greenlaw. The island occupied by Mr. Jordan 
was afterward the property of Mr. Ebenezer Jordan, and 
after his death it became that of his heirs, but it is now 
uninhabited, as no one has resided there since the death 
of the widow of Mr. Ebenezer Jordan, 2d, which took place 
in 1879. 

The wife of Mr. Ebenezer Jordan was Olive, the daugh- 
ter of Mr. William Sellers, a brother of Charles and Joseph 
Sellers, and who was the father of Mr. William Sellers, 
the father of the present Mr. Amos Sellers. The chil- 
dren of the family were : Benjamin Jordan, who went away 
when a young man and never returned, nor had his parents 
knowledge of his residence, if he were living ; Ebenezer 
Jordan, 2d, who died in 1852, at the age of forty-seven 
years ; Sarah, the wife of Mr. Thomas Saunders ; Hannah, 
the wife of Mr. John S. Trott, of Castine ; Olive, the wife 
of Mr. Richard Brown ; Mehitable, the wife of Captain 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. \ \ \ 

Richard Greenlaw ; and Nancy, that of the present '\\x. 
Aaron D. Pickering, — the last of whom only is living. 

Andrew Small, the eldest son of Mr. Job Small, took 
up the lot adjoining that of his father on the east as a 
young settler. He was born in 1764, and his wife was 
Hannah, the daughter of Mr. Robinson Crockett. He 
was by trade a ship-carpenter. He was a very active, 
energetic man, and a good citizen. His sons were : the 
late Mr. Joseph Small, who died a few years ago, over 
eighty years of age ; Captain Benjamin Small, who died 
when a young man ; and Lemuel, who was drowned when 
a young man also. The daughters were : Alice, the wife 
of Larkin Snow, Esq., of Rockland ; Mercy, the wife of 
Mr. Jeremiah Pressey, who died the same time her hus- 
band did, and was buried in the same grave with him ; 
Hannah, the wife of the late Captain John Trundy ; Susan, 
the wife of Mr. David Conary ; and Rebecca, the wife of 
Joel Whitten, who removed to Rockland not far from 
1850. The wife of Mr. Small died in 1836, and he after- 
ward married the widow of Mr. James Greenlaw, who sur- 
vived him. The farm he occupied is now the property of 
Mrs. Eliza Small, who resides upon it. 

Samuel Small settled upon the lot of land lying south- 
easterly of, and adjoining, that of the subject of the pre- 
ceding notice, and he purchased the right in it which 
belonged to Mr. Cornelius Brimhall, who claimed to own 
it by prior settlement. The wife of Mr. Small was Sarah, 
the daughter of Captain Robinson Crockett. Their chil- 
dren were: the present Mr. Samuel Small, now in his 
eighty-fifth year ; and the wife of Mr. Rufus York, who 
was drowned in 1844, in endeavoring to escape from his 
vessel which took fire in the night, while lying loaded with 
wood in Crockett's Cove. His wife died in 1823, and he 



112 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

afterward married the widow of Mr. John Howard, who 
survived him. Mr. Small was a very worthy and sensible 
man and was much respected ; and for his advantages he 
had acquired a good deal of information. A few years 
before his death his mind failed him, and he died in 1854, 
aged eighty-six years. His farm passed into the hands of 
his son. It is now owned principally by Mr. Josiah C. 
Stinson. 

MicAjAH LuNT, a native of Newburyport, came here 
not far from the year 1784, but no lot of land was assigned 
to him, nor have we knowledge that he ever owned one. 
His wife was the Mrs. Mary Lunt before noticed, and his 
daughter was the widow of the late Mr. Avery Fifield. 
Mr. Lunt was in the naval service of the United States 
during the war of the Revolution, and some years after 
his death, which took place not far from 1828, his widow 
received a pension. 

The land lying south of what is known as Long Cove 
was first settled by three brothers named Abraham, John, 
and Isaac Freeze — neither of whom remained here for 
many years. The descendants of the last named still 
reside in the city of Ellsworth and in some of the towns 
north of it, on the Union River, and now spell their names 
Frazier, which perhaps might have been the name origi- 
nally. The descendants of Abraham Freeze moved up the 
Penobscot River and reside in the towns north of the city 
of Bangor, and they retain the name Freeze. The wife 
of John had no children, and when the late Hon. Richard 
Warren was when young left an orphan (he was a grand- 
son of a brother of her husband), she took care of him 
till he became able to do something for his own support. 
After his marriage he took her to his own home and 
provided for her during her life, showing a commendable 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. \ 13 

gratitude, which is pleasant to remember. The Messrs. 
Freeze sold out their rights to Messrs. Mark Haskell & 
Sons, who had their rights alloted as settlers adjoining, 
and at the time of Peters's survey had a lot of five hun- 
dred acres there in one body ; of that quantity about ninety 
acres were sold to Mr. David Sawyer and is now occupied 
by Mr. Samuel G. Barbour ; about one hundred and fifty 
acres were set off to Deacon Solomon Haskell, one of the 
firm, and the remainder, two hundred and sixty acres, was 
at the time of the death of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., his 
property, and a part of it is still known as the Barbour 
farm. 

Nathaniel Robbins settled the lot of land lying south 
of, and adjoining, the before-mentioned lot. He came 
here from Boston with his father about the year 1775. 
His wife was Miss Betsey Colby, a daughter of Mr. Joseph 
Colby. Their sons were Tristram T., Thomas, Nathaniel, 
and James Robbins ; the two last are still living. The 
daughters were the wives of the late Mr. Nathaniel 
Thurston, and she is still living, aged over ninety years ; 
of a Mr. Ackley, of the town of Cutler; and the other is 
now the widow of the late Mr. Leonard Judkins. The 
time of the death of Mr. Robbins we do not know ; his 
widow died not far from the year 1850, over eighty years 
of age. The farm of Mr. Robbins is still owned and 
occupied by his descendants. 

Courtney Babbidge, Sr. and his two sons settled the 
lots adjoining that of Mr. Robbins on the south. They 
came here from Windham, Maine, in 1773. Mr. Babbidge 
does not seem to have had a settler's right assigned to 
him, and probably at the time the survey was made he 
might not have been living, or had removed from here. 
He was three times married, and was the father of Messrs. 



114 "^'^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Stephen, Courtney, James, and William Babbidge. The 
two former will be noticed. James removed to Vinal 
Haven, where he lived and died, and William removed to 
Windham. The daughters were the two wives of Mr. 
Oliver Lane and that of Captain Hezekiah Colby, a son 
of Mr. Ambrose Colby, Sr. The widow of Mr. Babbidge, 
whose maiden name was Staples, married Mr. James 
Joyce, who lived here for some time, and afterward re- 
moved to Swan's Island, where he died, and was the 
ancestor of all of the name there and in this town. Mr. 
Babbidge was a brother of the Mr. William Babbidge who 
has been noticed. 

Stephen Babbidge, his eldest son, settled upon the 
southern side of the lot taken up by them, and had his 
right assigned him there. His wife was Miss Hannah 
Staples, a daughter of the man who has been mentioned 
as having been impressed by the British. His sons were : 
Courtney, who lived for some years near the mouth of 
Union River, in the city of Ellsworth, and died there ; 
Stephen, the father of the present Mr. William Babbidge ; 
Levi, a master-mariner ; John, who died very suddenly, in 
1826; Aaron, and the late Mr. William Babbidge; and 
James, who in 1833 was drowned, with his wife and child, 
in passing through the flood-gates into the millpond, at 
the Southeast Plarbor. The daughters were the wives 
of Mr. William Barter, of Isle au Haut, and Mr. Nathaniel 
Robbins, Jr., and all are now dead. Mr. Babbidge died in 
1 84 1, aged eighty-two years. He was for many years an 
invalid, was much respected, and in his day had consider- 
able influence here, and he acquired considerable property. 
After the death of his wife he married her sister, Mrs. 
Saunders, and afterward, in 1835, married the widow of 
Mr. Stephen Dow, a daughter of Mr. William Sellers. 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. \ 15 

Courtney Barbidge, 2d, settled upon the northern part 
of the lot, where his right was assigned him. He was a 
soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was, I believe, 
at the taking of Cornwallis. He was fortunate enough 
to keep his written discharge from the army, signed by 
General Knox, which enabled him to prove his claim for 
a pension. From the difificulty of proof of service, required 
by the Act of Congress, maniy were prevented from 
receiving pensions who were entitled to them. His wife 
was a daughter of Mr. Hezekiah Lane, and his sons were 
Courtney, Calvin, Abner, Winthrop, Dudley, Stephen, 
and Bester, by his first wife ; by his second, Walter 
and Benjamin K. None of them settled here, and all, 
with the exception of Bester, who resides in Winterport, 
and Benjamin, residing in New York, — both of whom are 
are master-mariners, — are now dead. The daughters were 
the wives of Messrs. Thomas, Edward, and Ignatius Has- 
kell, 3d, three brothers, sons of Deacon Joshua Haskell. 
One was the wife of Mr. William Davis, a master 
ship-carpenter, who removed to the Province of New 
Brunswick. They all are dead. After the death of his 
wife Mr. Babbidge married the widow of Mr. Ephraim 
Stinson, of Vinal Haven, who had been married twice 
before, and who was formerly well known here ; hav- 
ing sold his farm to his brother Stephen, he removed to 
an island at the eastern entrance of what is known as Fox 
Island thoroughfare, where he lived till his death in 1834, 
and the island is still known as Babbidgc's Island. He 
was a man of decided political opinions, as well as was 
his brother Stephen, but they were of different opinions 
politically. 

George Freeze, a brother of the persons noticed of 
the same name, settled upon the lot cast of that of the 



Il6 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Messrs. Babbidge, and where they came from is not known 
to us ; he came about the same time as did the others, 
which was quite early, and of him but little is now known. 
His children removed from here, and nearly all of their 
descendants reside in the towns north of Bangor, on the 
river. The only one of his grandchildren who remained 
was the late Hon. Richard Warren, a son of the Mr. 
Thomas Warren before noticed, and he was born on what 
is now known as Freeze's Island, in 1786 ; he died in 
1865, and has been before noticed. Mr. Warren purchased 
the farm occupied by Mr. Freeze, upon which he resided 
till his death, and it is now owned and occupied by his 
son-in-law. Captain Gideon Hatch. 

Joseph Tyler, Esq. settled upon the lot south of that 
of the lands of Messrs. Babbidge and Freeze, and it was 
included within the limits of the "Kent Claim." As the 
deed to Kent by Greenlaw was made valid by a resolve of 
the General Court of Massachusetts, Mr. Tyler could not 
hold it as a settler. He was the son of a Congregational 
minister in Dedham, Massachusetts, and his mother was a 
niece of Sir William Pepperell, and he was born in 1749. 
His brothers Messrs. Belcher and George Tyler came with 
him, and the year of their coming is not known, but it 
was prior to 1784. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
army, and his wife was Miss Phebe Fowles. I think I 
have understood he contracted to purchase the claim of 
Mr. Kent and rebuilt the mills upon it and was for many 
years engaged in sawing lumber. He was a man of a 
good education for those times, and the first, or one of the 
first, person holding a commission as a justice of the 
peace in the town, which was in those days considered an 
office of dignity. He, with his brother George, was 
appointed a committee to lay out the island into lots to 



TO WN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. i i 7 

the settlers who were by a resolve of the General Court 
entitled to them. A history of the grant made of the 
remainder of the land to him and his brother has been 
given. After a number of years' residence on the land, 
he left it, and the sawmill became of little value, as the 
best of the lumber had been cut off in the vicinity. He 
then moved to the Reach, upon the farm of Mr. Robert 
Linn, where he remained till his death in 1835, ^^ the age 
of eighty-six years. His wife survived him, dying in 
1857, at the age of ninety-three years. They had twelve 
children ; the sons were : Joseph, Pepperell, Andrew, 
David, Peter P., James, Thomas, and William — all of 
whom, except James, are now dead. He is about eighty 
years of age. The daughters were : Lydia, the wife of 
the Captain Joshua C. Howard mentioned before, whose 
death was in consequence of poison on board a revenue- 
cutter ; Sarah, the first wife of Mr. Richard Brown and 
mother of Mr. Samuel Brown, now of Newburyport ; 
Phebe, the wife of Mr. John Raymond, then of Boston, 
who died in Gloucester ; and INIary, who died unmarried, 
when a young woman. 

George Tvler, Esq. came early and was entitled to a 
settler's lot, if he had complied with the requirements, 
but I never heard of his occupying one ; his residence 
was with his brother, and he was engaged with him in 
business. He was also a justice of the peace and a man 
of education and very capable. His occupation before 
he came here was that of a silversmith ; he was tiie 
first person who represented the town in the General 
Court at Boston. He was never married and for some 
years resided in Castine and was once postmaster there. 
He afterward removed to Boston, where he died many 
years ago. In hi.s day he was well known here and in the 
towns around. 



Il8 --^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Captain Belcher Tyler, a brother of the two last- 
named persons, settled upon the lot lying south of the 
millpond, which was also within the claim of Mr. Kent. 
He was a master-mariner, we suppose, as he was styled 
Captain Tyler. His wife was not a resident here before 
marriage, and after her death he married Mrs. Elizabeth 
Toothaker, the person noticed who was a widow five 
times, and he removed to the farm occupied by her former 
husband. He resided there till his death, in 1827. None 
of his sons remained here, but they removed to the eastern 
part of the State, where their descendants still reside. 
Only one of his daughters remained, who was the wife of 
Captain Jonathan Torrey, and mother of Messrs. David, 
William, and Belcher T. Torrey ; she died a few years 
ago at the age of eighty-six years. Another daughter was 
the wife of Mr. Carr Thurlow, who resided several years 
on the farm of Mr. Aaron Babbidge, and afterward removed 
to the town of Cutler, in Washington County. Captain 
Tyler was a man of information, and for those times had 
a good education. 

Joseph Colby was the settler upon the lot of land lying 
south of, and adjoining, that of Captain Tyler. He had 
a two-hundred-acre lot set off to him, which was within 
the limits of the Kent Claim, about which mention has 
been made. In the suit at law referred to in the former 
part of this work I have understood that he claimed, in 
addition to his right as an early settler, that Kent had 
contracted to sell him the land, and in payment he was to 
perform a certain amount of labor upon the mill built by 
Kent, and upon the dam, which he had performed ; but 
upon what ground he held the land we do not know. He 
was a native of Newbury, or some place in that vicinity, 
in Massachusetts, and was born in 1744. When but 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. \ 19 

eighteen years of age entered into an agreement of 
marriage with Miss Sarah Thurlow, who was eight years 
his senior ; she purchased his " time," as it was called, 
of his father or master, and they were married. He came 
here very early — not far from 1766 ; and his son Thomas, 
born in 1768, was the first child born of white parents in 
that part of the town. Mr. Colby was a pious and exem- 
plary man, and died in 1828, at the age of eighty-four 
years. His wife survived him till 1833, dying at the age 
of ninety-seven years. His son Thomas is well remem- 
bered by the older persons among us, from* his peculiar 
manner of talking, having been what is termed tongue-tied. 
He was a master-mariner, and died in 1837, aged sixty- 
nine years. Mr. Colby's wife was the one referred to, 
who carried the news of the surrender of Cornwallis to 
Bagaduce. Their children were : Joseph and Thomas ; 
Eunice, the wife of Mr.Thomas Stinson, Jr. ; Betsey, that 
of Mr. Nathaniel Robbins ; Hannah, wife of Mr. Edward 
Small ; and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Leonard Judkins, who 
came here a year or more prior to 1800, from Salisbury, 
New Hampshire, to which place they removed, and after 
a few years returned. When at Salisbury Mrs. Judkins 
well knew the father of Daniel Webster, and remembered 
Daniel when a young man. The first wife of Captain 
Thomas Colby was Miss Patience Norton, and after her 
death he married Miss Betsey Thurlow, of Newbury, and 
afterward married Mrs. Merchant, widow of Nathaniel 
Merchant. His children were : Joseph, Tristram, Thomas 
J., Anthony, Noah, and the wife of Mr. Daniel Lufkin, and 
another, a Mrs. Deering, now living in Winterport. She 
is in receipt of a pension for the services of her husband 
in the War of 18 12, and is the only one of the family now 
living. The wife of Joseph Colby, Jr., who settled the lot 



I20 ^'^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

adjoining that of his father on the south, was Miss Eunice 
Thurlow, of Newbury, Massachusetts, and a sister of the 
late Captain David Thurlow, who will be noticed. He, 
Mr. Colby, was what was termed a young settler. He was 
a man large of stature and of great physical strength, but, 
like many persons who possess it, often overtaxed it, and 
was worn out sooner in life than many men much weaker 
physically, who are sensible of their deficiency and take 
better care to preserve what they do have. They were 
the parents of twelve children. The sons were Abner, 
David T., Stephen, and William R. The daughters were 
the wives of the Mr. William Small who died, as before 
mentioned, under the practice of a Thompsonian doctor, 
and Mr. Samuel Stinson, Jr., Mr. Nathaniel Ware, Henry 
Keller, and William Thompson. All the family, with the 
exception of Mr. Stephen Colby, are now dead. Mr. Colby 
died in 1833, and his wife survived him several years. 

Thomas Stinson, Jr. settled the lot of land adjoining 
that of Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr., on the south, and was a 
child when he came with his father to Stinson's Neck, in 
1765. His wife, as we have stated, was a daughter of Mr. 
Joseph Colby; she was born in 1763. Their children 
were: Joseph C, known as Esquire Stinson, born in 1782 
and died in 1849 or 1850; Thomas, who was for many 
years a deacon in the Baptist Church ; Jesse, who 
removed to Camden and died there or returned just before 
his death — the father of the present Mr. Jesse Stinson ; 
Lydia, the wife of Mr. Jedediah Darling, of Bluehill ; she 
lived till 1880, and died aged ninety-two years. She was 
the mother of those of that name there. Another was 
the wife of Mr. Gideon Candage, of the same place ; 
another, that of a Mr. Wright, of Machias ; and the 
others v/ere the wives of Mr. Joseph C. Small and Mr. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 2 I 

loliii Judkins, of this town. All of the family are now 
dead. After the death of his wife, Mr. Stinson married 
the widow of Mr. Abner Lane, and after her decease he 
married the widow of Captain Belcher Tyler. 

Edward Small settled the lot lying south of that of 
Mr. Stinson ; he was the son of Mr. Job Small and was 
born in 1770 ; his wife was Hannah, the daughter of Mr. 
Joseph Colby, with whom he lived in wedlock sixty-six 
years. She many years ago practised as midwife, had 
a great deal of experience, was very successful and quite 
skilful in many kinds of diseases in those days, when 
the services of a physician were not as readily obtained 
as now; she died in 1859, ^^ the age of eighty-seven 
years, her death being caused by a fall upon the ice near 
her door. Her husband survived her till 1864, and he 
was, until he lost his sight a few years before his death, 
able to perform labor upon his farm, retaining his mental 
faculties remarkably ; with but one exception I have 
considered him the most active man I ever knew for 
one of his great age. He was for some years a mem- 
ber of the board of selectmen of the town and was a 
man of excellent judgment. They were the parents of 
nine sons — four of whom removed from here; one, Mr. 
Samuel Small, of Machiasport, is still living ; two of 
the others, Messrs. Ignatius and William Small, reside 
here; three others, Messrs. Joseph E., Thomas, and 
George W. Small, are now dead ; the latter perished by 
drowning in 1840. There was one daughter, the wife of 
Mr. Alexander Drew, a resident of Machias, who became 
a widow and is now dead. The sons of Mr. Small, Igna- 
tius and William, have several times been on the board 
of selectmen. The property of Mr. Small is now that of 
the last named, who resides upon it. 



122 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Samuel Webb came here with his son, Mr. Seth Webb, 
from Windham, Maine, not far from 1765. He was born 
near the city of London in 1695, and his father was 
a captain in the service of Queen Anne. His father 
dying when he was quite young made it necessary for him 
to seek some permanent employment, and when a boy he 
was apprenticed to a ship-master, as was then the custom 
there, and while on a voyage to this country his master 
died at some place in what is now the State of Rhode 
Island, when he was but seventeen years of age. He 
then apprenticed himself to a blacksmith and learned the 
trade. He was twice married and was the father of ten 
sons ; many of that name in that State, and in the 
vicinity of Salem, Massachusetts, and in the town of 
Windham, in this State, and other places, are his descend- 
ants. He is said to have taught the first school within 
the limits of the town of Windham, and upon the removal 
of his son, Mr, Seth Webb, came with him with his last 
wife. For many years previous to his death he was 
subject to what is known as the " shaking palsy," and he 
died in 1788 at the age of ninety-three years ; his 
remains, with those of his wife, were buried in the grave- 
yard on the land formerly owned by the late Samuel 
Whitmore, Esq., who, some years ago, pointed out to me 
the place of their burial. 

Seth Webb, the son of the subject of the preceding 
notice, settled upon what is now known as " Babbidge 
Neck," on the lot of land afterward the property of ]\Ir. 
Joseph Whitmore, who, when a boy, resided and came here 
with him. His wife was Miss Hannah Winship, of Wind- 
ham, a daughter of the man of that name mentioned in 
Williamson's History of Maine, who was, when away from 
his house, scalped by the Indians, and recovered. He 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 123 

was at the time in company with a man of the name of 
Brown, who was killed by them, but Mr. Winship escaped 
death in consequence of the savages' becoming alarmed 
and fleeing, not stopping to strike him upon the head with 
a hatchet, as often was their practice, fracturing the skull. 
After the scalping he remained for some time insensible, 
and upon becoming conscious found himself unable to 
return home. As it happened, he was lying down by the 
edge of a bog upon which cranberries grew plentifully. 
It was the time of the year when they were ripe, and, 
as there happened to be no rain while he remained, he 
was able to creep upon his hands and knees to procure 
them to appease his hunger and thirst, and at the end of 
two weeks returned to his home, much to the surprise of 
his family, who had given him up for dead ; and as the 
weather proved moderate, he was enabled to recover. A 
physician in the neighborhood informed him that cran- 
berries were beneficial to the blood and caused his wound 
to heal. He lived for many years, and afterward married 
the widow of the Mr. Brown who was with him. 

After Mr. Webb resided upon the first land taken up 
by him, he gave up his claim to Mr. Whitmore and took 
up a lot near what is now known as Webb's Cove ; he 
also, a part of the time, resided upon Kimball's Island, 
now in the town of Isle au Haut, and he was there 
during the war of the Revolution. When ho left Wind- 
ham he owned considerable property, but having a fond- 
ness for hunting, he came East and was considerable of 
his time engaged in that pursuit with the Indians, with 
whom he was on good terms, and frequently those with 
whom he was engaged when about here made his house 
their home. Among others who did so was a noted man 
among them, a chief who was named Orono, said to be a 



124 ^^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

natural son of one of the sons of Baron De Castine. 
Orono lived to a very great age, and was said to be one 
hundred and ten years old at the time of his death. I have 
often heard his last surviving daughter speak of his being 
at her father's house frequently. Mr. Webb often hunted 
upon Union River and its tributaries, and in all probabil- 
ity, the pond near it, now known as Webb's Pond, and 
the brook leading out of it were named for him. The 
year before his death he discovered a lead-mine on the 
banks of that river at a time when the water was low, and 
he traced it across it, and I have understood that it was 
not far from its mouth. He brought home a piece weigh- 
ing several pounds, and at the time of taking it he 
marked the place with his hatchet so as to enable him to 
find it on his next visit. He sent a part of it to Boston 
and it was pronounced a good specimen of lead ore, in 
which was some silver, and it was probably a continuation 
of one of the veins of that metal lately discovered in the 
towns east of the city of Ellsworth. His daughter, 
before referred to, informed me that the family had it for 
several years, and the piece of ore was as large as a man's 
two fists. His death took place in 1785, and was caused 
by accidental shooting ; at the time he was on Kimball's 
Island and his family on this island, and either in launch- 
ing his canoe, or in drawing her ashore if she was afloat, 
his loaded gun was discharged as it lay in the bow of the 
canoe, killing him instantly : his body being found upon 
the shore. At the time of his death he was fifty-three 
years of age. His wife survived him till 18 15, and she 
lies buried in what is known as the " old burying-ground," 
not far from the Town House, and hers is the only 
gravestone in the yard as now enclosed. Their children 
were Mr. Samuel Webb, who died in 1837, much re- 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 25 

spected, at the age of sixty-five years, and William, who 
died more than fifty years ago. One of the daughters 
was the wife of I\Ir. James Saunders ; another the wife of 
Mr. Francis Kimball, who removed to Waterville, where 
his descendants still reside. Another was the wife of 
Mr. Joshua Emerson ; another, the last survivor, was the 
wife of Mr. John Eaton. She died in i860, and another 
removed to Portland, remaining unmarried, and another 
was the wife of Mr. Daniel Moore, of Castine. The wife 
of Mr. Samuel Webb was Miss Hannah Eaton, and they 
were the parents of the late Jonathan E. Webb, Esq., 
the present Mr. W'illiam Webb, and Mr. James L. Webb. 
Mr. Samuel Webb represented this town in the Legisla- 
ture in 1 83 1, and he resided upon the land taken up by 
his father near Webb's Cove. After the death of Mr. 
Seth Webb, his widow attempted to procure a title to 
Kimball's Island, but the agent to whom she entrusted 
her business did not procure it for her, but did so for 
himself, as has been stated by the family. 

Captain Edmund Sylvester, a native of Marshfield, 
Massachusetts, came here in 1788, and settled upon the 
lot of land lying south of that of Mr. Webb, and previous 
to his removal here was a master-mariner. His wife was 
Miss Deborah Cushman, a grandaughter of Josiah Wins- 
low, who died about 1774. He was a lineal descendant 
of John Winslow, one of the first governors of the Ply- 
mouth Colony, and was himself, I believe, one of the co- 
lonial governors of Massachusetts, and was the owner of 
the farm owned and occupied by Daniel Webster at Marsh- 
field at the time of his death ; the ancestors of Mrs. 
Sylvester were among the Pilgrims who came over to 
Plymouth in 1620. After her marriage she persuaded 
her husband to leave the sea, stating that she was willing 



126 ^A' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

to live anywhere if he would but remain at home, and he 
came here and purchased the land settled upon by him. 
He was one of the selectmen of the town a few years, and 
was an intelligent and honorable man, and very decided 
in his opinions ; was from the time of the establishment 
of the Baptist Church here a member till his death in 1828, 
his wife preceding him about one month. There were 
many deaths during that year from a distemper not then 
fully understood, which will be noticed in another place. 
I have been informed that about sixty persons died of it 
that year, and but few who were attacked recovered. At 
the time of his death he was sixty-eight, and his wife 
sixty-four, years of age. Their children were the late 
Mr. Crowell H. Sylvester, Joseph Sylvester, Abiel, and 
Edmund, the sons ; Ruth, the wife of Captain William 
Raynes, and Salome, the widow of the late Mr. Joseph 
Sellers, 2d. The two youngest sons removed to Newbury- 
port and died there. Mr. Crowell Sylvester died in 1863, 
aged seventy-eight years ; Joseph in 1847, aged fifty-six; 
Mrs. Raynes in 1852, aged sixty-three years, and Mrs. 
Sellers still survives at the present time (1882), aged 
eighty-one years. The farm of Captain Sylvester was in 
1842 sold to Mr. Robert Knowlton, whose heirs still own 
it, and most of his children now living reside upon it. 

George Gross settled a lot of land lying north and 
east of Webb's Cove, and easterly of the land of Mr. 
Thomas Stinson. He was not one of the first class of 
settlers who were here prior to 1784, but must have been 
one of those styled young settlers. The place and date 
of his birth is to us unknown, but he came from the town 
of Harpswell, in this State, of which place his wife was 
a native. Her maiden name was Alexander, and she was 
a sister of the late Mr. Ezekiel Alexander, and of the 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA/XE. I 27 

wife of I\Ir. Solomon Marshall. He was known as " Citi- 
zen Gross." The origin of his receiving that appellation 
was this : He at one time lost his house by fire, and 
applied to George Tyler, Esq., to write a subscription- 
paper for the purpose of circulation for his relief, and the 
paper was headed thus : " Whereas, Citizen George Gross, 
of this town, has lost his house by fire," etc., and ever 
afterward he was known thus. He died in 1828, and his 
wife survived him a few years. Their children were : 
Charles, born in 1782 ; James and Nathaniel, born in 1789 ; 
Betsey, the wife of Mr. David Smith, of Swan's Island, and 
mother of the present Mr. William Smith, residing in this 
town ; Lucy, the wife of Mr. David Smith, Jr. ; Abigail, the 
first wife of the late Mr. Elisha H. Dunham ; Jane and 
Polly, who never married ; and Dorothy, the widow of the 
late Captain Jeremiah Thurlow. We believe she is the 
only survivor of the family. Mr. Gross, at the time of his 
death, was in the receipt of a pension for his Revolutionary 
services. 

Thomas Buckminster settled upon a lot of land Iving 
on the east side of Webb's Cove. He took up a lot of 
fifty acres. He was a young settler, and came here not 
far from the year 1790. He was born in the town of At- 
kinson, New Hampshire, or in that vicinity, and when 
young lived in the family of the father of Mr. Jonathan 
Webster, who came from that place here in 1804. Mr. 
Buckminster married Miss Rhoda, the daughter of Mr. 
Thomas Robbins. He was a very worthy man, and left 
a good name behind him. He lived upon the lot taken 
up by iiim till his deatli, which took place not long after 
1850, aged over eighty years. They had a large familv. 
The sons were John. Tiiomas, ICbcnezer, Moody, and Will- 
iam. The daughters were the wives of Messrs. Robert 



128 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Knowlton, Swansey Gross, Joseph Knowlton, John Jud- 
kins, and Thomas Harvey, and one, named Mary, who 
never married. Of the family Ebenezer, Moody, and 
Mary now remain. Some of the sons were remarkable 
for their stature, Thomas being six feet and six and a half 
inches in height, and John six feet and six inches. The 
property of Mr. Buckminster is now that of his son, Mr. 
Ebenezer Buckminster, with whom his sister Mary resides. 

Thomas Robbtns settled on the lot of land lying easterly 
of the land of Mr. Buckminster. He came from Boston, 
or some place in the near vicinity, in 1775, with his family, 
and in the early years of the town he was a man of con- 
siderable influence, and for many years held the office of 
coroner, and was well known as "Coroner Robbins." He 
was twice married. His last wife was the widow of the 
Mr. William Babbidge before noticed, who resided near 
him. The date of his death is not to us known, and two 
of his sons who resided here were the Messrs. Nathaniel 
and Thomas Robbins, Jr., who have been noticed. One of 
his daughters was the wife of Mr. Buckminster, and the 
other that of Mr. Thomas Stinson, 3d, known as Deacon 
Thomas Stinson. The farm of Mr. Robbins came into the 
possession of Mr. John Buckminster, by whom it was 
occupied till his death, and now is the property of his son, 
Mr. William S. Buckminster. 

Joseph Whitmore resided upon the northeastern lot 
on what is known as Babbidge's Neck, and it was laid out 
to him in the survey of the island. On this lot 
Mr. Seth lived a few years after he came. The birth- 
place of Mr. Whitmore is not to us known, but as he came 
when a boy in the family of Mr. Seth Webb from Wind- 
ham, that place was probably his native town. He was 
born in 1755, and his wife was Abigail, the daughter of 



TOir.V OF DEER ISLE, MALXE. I 29 

Mr. William Babbidge. They went to Bagaduce for the 
purpose of having the marriage ceremony performed, which 
was done by the chaplain in the l^ritish service there, in 
1780, or about that time. Mr. Whitmore was a soldier in 
the war of the Revolution, for which he received a ))ension. 
He died in 1 841, at the age of eighty-six years, after having 
lived in wedlock more than sixty years. His wife survived 
him nearly ten years. Their sons were : John, who died in 
the town of Lincolnville ; Joseph, who was drowned in 
1 814; William, who was drowned when going from Isle au 
Haut to Deer Island ; Lemuel, who was drowned in Egge- 
moggin Reach ; Daniel, who lived in the county of Aroos- 
took ; Samuel, who lived and died here ; James, who lived in 
the town of Tremont ; and Seth, who lived in the town of 
Trenton, near the shore and near the line of the city of Ells- 
worth. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Abel Staples, 
of Swan's Island ; Mr. Jonathan Eaton, of Sedgwick, the 
father of the late Theophilus Eaton, of Searsport ; another 
was the wife of Mr. George York, of Brooklin ; and 
another that of Alfred Raynes. The only one of the 
family who made this town his permanent residence was 
the late Samuel Whitmore, Esq., who was engaged in trade, 
doing quite a large business for many years. Owning con- 
siderable navigation, most of which was engaged in the 
fishing business, he acquired considerable property, owning 
the real estate of his father. His place of business is now 
occupied by C. H. S. Webb, ICsq. He was, in 1840, the 
representative from this town, and for many years had con- 
siderable influence. Before his death, in 1862 or 1863, he 
gave up his business to his sons, who for a few years 
carried it on. At this time but one of his sons, Mr. Seth 
Whitmore, resides here. His widow, a daughter of Mr. 
James Joyce, survived him a few years, and the house 



130 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

occupied by them is now the property of Mr. Lemuel 
Joyce, a son-in-law of theirs. 

WiLLiAiM Richards took up the lot adjoining that of 
Mr. Whitmore on the w^est, and it was assigned to him. 
He came in the early years of the settlement of the town, 
not far from 1765. How long he remained is not known, 
as he removed from here and none of that name remained 
after him. He sold out his title to the land, and it fell into 
the possession of Mr. Oliver Lane, who came here with his 
father in 1784. The wife of Mr. Lane was the eldest 
daughter of Mr. Courtney Babbidge, Sr., and the sister of 
Messrs. Stephen and Courtney Babbidge, 2d, and by her 
he had a family. The sons were : Oliver, the father of 
the present Mr. Hardy Lane ; Stephen B., who removed 
to Hampden not far from 1845 ; and Paul T., who 
remained till his death. The daughters were the wives of 
Mr. Samuel McClintock, who came here from Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire ; he was a school-teacher, and was styled 
" Master McClintock " ; another was the wife of Captain 
Abram Colby and afterward of Mr. Timothy Saunders ; 
another was that of Mr. Job Small, who was the son 
of Edward Small and moved to Machias, where he died ; 
and the other was that of Mr, James Duncan, Jr. All of 
the family are now dead. After the death of his wife, 
Mr. Lane married another daughter of Mr. Babbidge by 
his third wife ; he died not far from the year 1840, his 
wife surviving him. 

Hezekiah Lane, the father of the subject of the last 
notice, came here from what was then known as Sandy 
Bay, now in the town of Rockport, Massachusetts, with 
his family and took up a lot of land adjoining that of Mr. 
Richards on the southwest. His sons were Messrs. 
Oliver, John, Abner, and Benjamin Lane ; the latter was 



TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MALVE. 131 

afflicted with insanity for several years. One of his daugh- 
ters was the wife of Mr. Courtney Babbidge, 2d, and 
another was the wife of Mr. Robert Douglass, of Isle au 
Haut ; she was killed by being struck with a fragment of 
rock which her husband was blasting; further particulars 
will be given in the notice of Mr. Douglass. After the 
death of his wife, Mr. Lane married the widow of Mr. 
Abram Thurlow, of Newburyport, the mother of the late 
Captain David Thurlow and of the wife of Mr. Joseph 
Colby, Jr. 

C.vPTAiN Benjamin Stockbridge settled upon the lot of 
land lying west of that of Mr. Richards, but he was not 
of the class who were here prior to 1784. He came from 
Gloucester, Massachusetts, and was a ship-master and in 
good circumstances. It was said that he commanded the 
ship which first carried the American flag up the Darda- 
nelles. The exact time of his coming is to us unknown, 
but it was prior to the survey of the town by John Peters, 
Esq., as his name appears as the occupant of a lot on his 
plan. His death took place not far from 1S30, at an 
advanced age. He was a member of the Baptist Church 
here, and when some difficulty occurred between him and 
some of his neighbors — members of the same church — 
and an examination was made before the church, Captain 
Stockbridge read the thirtieth chapter of the book of Job, 
beginning with : " But now they that are younger than I 
have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained 
to have set with the dogs of my flock." His family con- 
sisted of two sons — Mr. John Stockbridge, who removed 
to Swan's Island, and Benjamin, who was lost at sea when 
a young man. Mr, John Stockbridge died several years 
ago and was the ancestor of all of that name there. C^ne 
of his daughters was the wife of Mr. lames Duncan, who 



132 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

came here as early as 1800. Another was the wife of 
Captain John Greenlaw, who died in 1870, at the age of 
eighty-seven years, after having lived with his wife, who 
survived him, sixty-six years. Another was the wife of 
Mr. Benjamin Lane before mentioned. Another was the 
wife of Mr. James Greenlaw, a brother of Captain John 
Greenlaw. Another was that of Captain William Grover, 
of Isle au Haut, who removed to Islesborough, and 
another was the wife of Mr. George Grover. Captain 
Stockbridge became before his removal here somewhat 
reduced in circumstances, and when young was a man of 
capacity and energy. 

John Thurston came here in 1784 from the same 
place as did Captain Stockbridge, but earlier ; they were 
relatives ; of him but little is known, as he died many 
years ago. His sons were John Thurston, Jr., Amos 
Thurston, and Solomon Thurston — the latter of whom 
removed from here ; a daughter was the wife of Mr. David 
Smith, of Swan's Island. Mr. Amos Thurston resided 
here till his death, and his wife. Miss Mary Gott, a sister 
of the late Captain Isaac Gott, of Tremont, survived him, 
dying in 1866, at the age of ninety-one years. They were 
the parents of the present Mr. Ambrose Thurston, the 
late Mr. Amos Thurston, Jr., the widow of the late Mr. 
John W. Small, and the wife of Mr. Jesse Stinson ; the 
others of the family are now dead. Mr. Solomon Thurs- 
ton resided while here upon the land now occupied by Mr. 
Thomas Gross, who inherited it from his father, the late 
Mr. Swansey Gross, and when he went from here, it was to 
the town of Vinal Haven. Mrs. Smith was the mother of 
David, Benjamin, George, and Asa Smith — all of whom 
resided upon Swan's Island. One of her daughters was 
the wife of the late Benjamin Stinson, Esq., and mother 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 133 

of the present Rev. Benjamin F. Stinson. Another of 
the daughters was the wife of the late Mr. Anthony Mer- 
chant ; and another was the wife of Mr. Benjamin Kent, 
and afterward that of Mr. John Beal, who died' here not 
many years since. Another sister of the family of Mr. 
John Thurston was the wife of a Mr. Gott, and afterward 
that of Mr. David Harding, of Sedgwick. Another was 
the wife of a Mr. Hooper and mother of Captain Jeremiah 
Hooper, of North Haven. The children of Mr. John 
Thurston, Jr. were the late Mr. Nathaniel Thurston and 
the wives of the late Captain Isaac Gott, of Tremont, and 
a Mr. Putnam, who resided here and removed many years 
ago. 

Captain Seth Hatch, a native of Marshfield, Massa- 
chusetts, settled upon the lot assigned to Mr. William 
Babbidge, who, as has been stated, took up his settlement 
upon the land afterward assigned to Deacon Joshua Has- 
kell and removed to the neck which was named for him. 
On the plan made by John Peters, Jr., the lot on which 
Captain Hatch settled was laid out to him. Captain 
Hatch was born not far from 1760 and came here a young 
man, but not in season to become a proprietor by settle- 
ment prior to 1784. He occupied the western part of the 
one hundred acres laid out to Mr. Babbidge, whose daugh- 
ter he married, and he lived upon the place till his death, 
in 1844. His wife survived him. Their children were: 
Captain William B. Hatch, a master-mariner, who resided 
in Pembroke in Washington County ; Seth, who removed 
to the same place ; he was in the same vessel with his 
brother William, who was master, when they were lost at 
sea, never being heard from. Another son was the late 
Captain Jeremiah Hatch, and another the present Captain 
Gideon Hatch, who resides upon the farm of the late 



134 ''^-^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Hon. Richard Warren. The daughters were the wives of 
Mr. Tristram T. Robbins, Mr. Simon Stinson, Mr. William 
Greenlaw, 2d, and the late Captain William Warren, who 
still survives, the other sisters being dead. The farm of 
Captain Hatch became the property of his son Jeremiah, 
with whom he resided at the time of his death. 

Samuel Staples resided upon the eastern half of the 
land of Mr. Babbidge, whose daughter he married, for 
several years. Some time not far from the year 1814, he 
removed to the town of Charleston in the county of 
Penobscot, or in its vicinity. The cold season of 1816, 
which was long remembered, obliged him to remove from 
that place, and in a few years he returned here and took 
up a lot near Burnt Cove — the one since occupied by the 
late Captain Joseph Fifield — and built a house upon it, 
which is now occupied by Mr. John Horton ; afterward 
he removed to a lot of land near the thoroughfare now 
occupied by Mr. Paul Thurlow, where he died in 1841, 
aged seventy-three years. His wife survived him several 
years and at the time of her death resided with a daugh- 
ter, the present Mrs. Walter Greenlaw, a widow. Mr. 
Staples and wife were the parents of the following chil- 
dren : Samuel, who went away when a young man, never 
returned, and no tidings were had of him ; Thomas, who 
followed the sea for many years, visited many parts of the 
world, returned in 1845, and died a few years after; 
David H., who was for many years a pilot of one of 
the steamers running from Bangor to Boston, died in 
Belfast. One of the daughters was first the wife of Mr. 
Joseph Sylvester and afterward the wife of the present 
Mr. Nathaniel Robbins. She died a few years ago, aged 
eighty-six years. Another was the wife of Mr. Aaron 
Stinson. Another was the wife of Captain Walter Green- 



TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 1 35 

law. Another was the wife of Mr. Joshua Emerson ; 
afterward, that of Mr. Elisha H. Dunham. Another was 
the wife of Mr. William Barbour, of Verona, and the 
youngest was tlie wife of Captain Thomas D. Toothaker, 
who lost his brig in the great gale in 1839, in the harbor 
of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Toothaker attempt- 
ing to reach the shore was drowned, while the crew nar- 
rowly escaped, the vessel becoming a complete wreck. 
The members of the family who survive are Mrs. Green- 
law and Mrs. Barbour. The farm Mr. Staples occupied 
on Babbidge's Neck became the property of the late Cap- 
tain John Greenlaw, upon which he lived till his death. 

Benjamin Weed came here among the first settlers not 
far from the year 1763 ; but he did not settle upon Great 
Ueer Island and of course had no right to a lot of land 
upon it, when the allotment was made by Joseph and 
George Tyler, as their authority extended to no other 
parts of the town than Great Deer and Sheep Islands. 
Mr. Weed made his settleuTent upon Little Deer Island 
and continued to reside there for many years, but after- 
wartl exchanged his land for a lot lying near Campbell's 
Neck with Captain Peter Hardy, then the junior of that 
name, and upon the plan of the island the lot purported 
to be that of Mr. Hardy. He removed to it, where he 
lived till his death. His wife was the daughter of William 
Eaton, and his family were Joseph, William, Jeremiah, and 
John Weed. One of the daughters was the wife of Mr. 
Josiah Gray ; another, that of a Mr. Tuttlc, and after she 
became a widow, married Mr. Gray, who had lost his wife. 
After his death she became the third wife of Captain 
Tristram Haskell. Another daughter was the wife of a 
Mr. F'errill, who was a resident of Mt. Desert. Mr. Weed 
has been mentioned as having been engaged in the siege 



136 ^/^" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

of Louisburg, but what place he came from here is not 
known. After his death the premises occupied by him 
became the property of Mr. Gray, who continued to reside 
there till his death ; it was afterward that of Mr. Silas H. 
Gray. 

Joseph Weed, the son of the subject of the last notice, 
settled upon the farm adjoining that of Nathan Haskell, 
Esq., on the east. He was a very industrious and prudent 
man and a good citizen. He was for many years a col- 
lector of taxes. His wife was Miss Judith, daughter of 
Mr. Jonathan Eaton, and their children were : John, who 
died when a young man ; Joseph, now living ; Nathan E., 
now dead, and who was for many years a collector of 
taxes ; and Caleb, who was drowned when a young man in 
the millpond at the Northwest Harbor. He had shot 
some seafowl that were in the pond and in going to pick 
them up in a small leaky float, which either filled or cap- 
sized, he sunk before he could reach the shore. The 
daughters of Mr. Weed were the wives of Mr. Nathan 
Dow, now living at the age of ninety years. Captain Davis 
Haskell, Mr. David Dow, Mr. Amos Weed, and Mr. Daniel 
Weed. One died unmarried. Before the death of Mr. 
Weed the town obtained possession of his farm, and the 
premises were used as a poor-farm until a few years since. 
Mr. Weed and his wife both lived to be over eighty years 
of age, living in wedlock more than sixty years. 

William Weed first settled upon a part of the lot of 
land taken up by Mr. John Pressey, Jr. In 1822 he 
exchanged his farm with Ignatius Haskell, Esq., for a tract 
of land on the south part of the island near what is now 
known as Green's Landing, which he occupied during the 
remainder of his life. His wife was Mary, the daughter of 
Mr. Jonathan Eaton, and their children were Amos, Daniel, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.l/XE. 1 37 

and Levi Weed, and a daughter Eunice, who became the 
wife of Mr. Joseph Weed, Jr. ; they are all now dead. 
Mr. Weed died in 1844 ^t the age of seventy-two years. 
He was an honest man and a good citizen. His wife 
lived till about the year 1850, and she was respected by all 
who knew her. None of his descendants now own the 
real estate left by him, and it is the property of Sullivan 
Green, Esq. and Mr. Stephen B. liarbour. The buildings 
that were upon it are now taken down. 

Jeremiah Weed settled upon Little Deer Island on a 
lot of land adjoining that of his father. His wife was 
Miss Althea Joyce, a daughter of Mr. James Joyce, and 
they had a large family, the sons being Jeremiah, James J., 
Ebenezer J., Randolph, who lives in Winterport, and one 
son who died young ; of the above Randolph is now, in 
1882, living. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Benja- 
min H. Eaton, Captain Joseph H. Gray, Mr. Samuel 
Eaton, Mr. Nelson Haskell, Captain Jonathan Gray, and 
Mr. William Eaton, of Little Deer Isle, and one married 
in Boston ; the four first named are now dead. Mr. Weed 
died several years before his wife. She died a few years 
ago. 

John Weed was the youngest brother of the family, 
born in 1786, and his wife was Miss Betsey Harris, the 
daughter of Mr. Joseph Harris. Their children were 
Henry, John, Davis H., Charles, and Dyer D. ; and the 
daughters were the wives of Captain Benjamin Thompson, 
and two were those of Mr. Samuel Torrey ; of the family 
at this time John and Mrs. Torrey — now Mrs. Manches- 
ter, of North Haven — are now living. Mrs. Weed died 
about the year 1879, '^^^^ ^^^ husband died several years 
a^o. 



138 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

JosiAH Gray, who occupied the premises of Mr. Benja- 
min Weed, was a native of what is now the town of Brooks- 
ville and a brother of the Mr. Christopher Gray who died 
in that town in 1866 at the age of one hundred and three 
years. They were grandsons of the person of that name 
who in 1760 made the first permanent settlement in what 
is now Castine, and ancestors of almost all of that name in 
the towns in this vicinity. Mr. Gray and his wife were 
the parents of thirteen children, — seven of whom were 
sons, — one of whom was Captain James Gray, a ship- 
master, who resided in Boston. Another was Mr. Josiah 
Gray, a master ship-builder, who died in Bluehill. Two 
removed to Vinal Haven ; one went away to sea and 
never returned; and one resides here — the present Mr. 
Solomon Gray. Of the daughters two only remain here : 
one, the late wife of Mr. Silas H. Gray ; the other, the 
widow of Mr. Joshua Pressey, 2d ; she was the adopted 
daughter of the late Captain John Torrey and came into 
possession of his homestead, upon which she now resides. 

Another man of the name of Gray resided here for 
many years and died here — Mr. Jeremiah Gray, whose 
wife was Hannah, the daughter of Mr. Nathaniel Bray, 2d, 
and granddaughter of the first of the name who came here. 
They were the parents of eleven sons and one daughter, 
who was the wife of Mr. Enos Cole. One of the sons 
died at sea ; another moved to New Brunswick, and 
another now lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The 
rest remained here : one of whom — Mr. Solomon Gray — 
died at New Orleans while in the military service of the 
United States. There are but two remaining here at 
present. Mr. Gray died several years ago ; also his wife, 
a worthy Christian woman, much respected. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 1 39 

Rev. Peter Powers came here not far from the year 
1785, from Newbury, in the State of Vermont — now 
Hanover, New Hampshire. He was a minister of the 
Congregational denomination and was the first settled 
pastor of the church here, although the church had been 
established several years. He was a zealous patriot in the 
Revolutionary times, and for his political opinions incurred 
the illwill of the Tories in that vicinity, and because of a 
sermon he preached from the text found in the book of 
Judges, fifth chapter, twenty-third verse, he was so perse- 
cuted by them that he left that place and came here, where 
he was pastor of the church till his death in 1800, at the 
age of seventy-two years. He was entitled to a grant of 
land as the first settled minister here, and his farm was on 
the eastern side of what is known as the Parsonage Lot 
of four hundred acres. The town or parish built a house 
upon it, and he resided there during his lifetime. He 
had several sons, one of whom was the Rev. Jonathan 
Powers, the first settled minister in the town of Penobscot 
in the year 1796, where he died in 1807. Another son 
was Hale Powers, who built a sawmill in the present town 
of l^rooksville on what is known as Horseshoe Creek. 
Another was Mr. Prescott Powers, who resided here many 
years, whose wife was a daughter of Deacon Francis 
Haskell. He came into possession of the land of his 
father, and after residing upon it for several years, 
removed to Pond Island, near Swan's Island, and after- 
ward he removed to Bluehill, where he died. Only one of 
his family remained here — the wife of the late Mr. Daniel 
Johnson. Mr. Powers was for several years the clerk of 
this town and was considered one of the most honorable 
and upright of men. His wife died not far from i860, 
aged about eighty-seven years. 



140 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Dr. Moody Powers was the youngest son of Rev. 
Peter Powers ; he remained here till his death, and 
was a practising physician. His wife was Miss Betsey 
Eaton, a daughter of William Eaton, 2d, and they had a 
large family. The sons were : the present Mr. Hale 
Powers ; Mr. Jonathan Powers, who removed to the State of 
Vermont ; Peter, who removed to Winterport ; William E., 
who resides here, as does his brother, Mr. Samuel E. ; and 
the other. Moody, now lives in the State of Kansas. One 
of the daughters was the wife of Captain Amos Howard ; 
another was the wife of Mr. David Tyler, who died very 
suddenly in 1836, or about that time; she afterward 
removed to Vermont and married there ; another was the 
wife of John H. Parker, Esq., of Mount Desert, and the 
other was that of the late Mr. Henry Weed, as his first 
wife. Dr. Powers died not far from 1850, and his wife in 
1 87 1, at the age of ninety-one years. 

There were other children in the family of Rev. Peter 
Powers, but they did not live here, or if they did, they did 
not remain. The farm he occupied is now owned and 
occupied in part by Mr. Levi Greenlaw, but whether the 
house now upon it was built for Mr. Powers, or not, we do 
not know: but it is probable, as it is very old — one of 
the oldest in the town. 

Solomon Barbour for many years occupied the farm 
lying south of Long Cove, and he was ancestor of all of 
the name in the town. He was a native of Massachusetts. 
The maiden name of his wife, of Braintree in that State, 
was Deborah Faxon, who when young for some years 
resided in the family of John Adams, President of the 
United States. She once told me that while she was 
in his family, John Quincy Adams was an infant, and that 
she had many a time rocked him in his cradle. Mr. Bar- 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.UXE. 141 

hour came here not far from 1793 with a family, and with 
him came Miss Betty Bryant, very well known here sixty 
years ago and more. She was for many years a school- 
teacher and lived to a great age. Mr. Barbour did not own 
the farm but occupied it under Ignatius Haskell, Esq., the 
owner, and it is still known as the Barbour Farm ; he 
resided upon it till his death. He was by trade a baker 
and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and received 
a pension till his death, the exact time of which we do not 
know, but it was a few years prior to 1830. His widow 
received a pension under the act granting pensions to 
widows of Revolutionary soldiers, and she lived till 1852, 
dying at the age of ninety-two years. Their children 
were : Mr. John Barbour, born in 1777 ; his wife was Miss 
Jane Gibson, who died before him ; he lived to the age 
of eighty-seven years. He was the father of the late 
Deacon George Barbour. Mr. John Barbour lived on 
what is known as Beach Hill. His other sons are the 
present Islx. Samuel G. Barbour, still residing in this town ; 
Mr, Solomon Barbour, of Swan's Island, and Mr. John 
Barbour, Jr., who a few years since moved to Massachu- 
setts. Another of the sons of Mr. Solomon Barbour was 
Captain Benjamin Barbour, who removed to Newburyport, 
sailing out of that port for many years. Another was the 
late Mr. Josiah Barbour. Another was Mr. Charles Bar- 
bour, and another was Mr. Isaiah Barbour, who removed 
to Isle au Haut and from there about forty-five years ago- 
removed to Camden, where he died in 1880, or about that 
time. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Adam 
Thompson and Deacon Stephen Babbidge, known as 
Stephen Babbidge, Jr., who after her death married her 
sister, the widow Thompson. 



142 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

James Gibson was another Revolutionary soldier who 
came here from Massachusetts prior to the year 1800. It 
seems probable that he might at one time have occupied 
an island north of, and near, Stinson's Neck, which is still 
known as Gibson's Island, but he resided for some time on 
this island, where he died many years ago ; but a very 
few now know anything about him. He had two sons, 
Samuel and James, who died at sea when young men. 
Two of the daughters married here ; one, the wife of Mr. 
John Barbour ; the other, the wife of Captain Nathaniel 
Bray, Jr. and the mother of the present Captain James G. 
Bray. Mr. Gibson was engaged in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, and before they came here they resided not far from 
Newburyport. I perfectly recollect his widow, who was 
blind for many years. She once informed me that when 
General Washington was on his tour North, he and his 
escort passed them while going from Newburyport to 
Portsmouth. He was recognized by Mr. Gibson, who had 
served under him and who spoke to, and saluted, him. 
The salute was returned and the General, finding that he 
was one of his soldiers, stopped his company, shook hands, 
and conversed with him, seeming pleased to have found 
one of his fellow-soldiers. She said that General Washing- 
ton was one of the most noble appearing men she ever 
happened to see. 

Richard Greenlaw was the youngest son of Mr. Jona- 
than Greenlaw, who settled here shortly after William 
Eaton and went when a child to New Brunswick with his 
father in 1783, but returned with his brother William. He 
was not the owner of any real estate, we think, but resided 
upon the farm of his son during the later years of his life. 
His wife was Miss Mary Jordan, a daughter of Mr. James 
Jordan, and he was by trade a ship-carpenter. Their sons 



TOirX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 143 

were : Richard, who removed to the town of Kilmarnock, 
Maine, which is now called Medford. Another was the 
late Mr. James J. Greenlaw. Another was the present Mr. 
Joseph S. Greenlaw. Another was Mr. Samuel J. Green- 
law. Another was Mr. William L. Greenlaw, who resides in 
Newburyport. Another was Mr. John C. J. Greenlaw, 
who died many years ago. The daughters were the wives 
of Mr. George Barbour and Mr. Thomas V. Howard ; and 
two live in Massachusetts. 

William Bray was the youngest son of Mr. Nathaniel 
Bray, Sr. and lived on the farm now owned by Mr. Joshua 
Marshall. He was not one of those who settled prior to 
1784, but must have been a young settler. His wife was 
the daughter of I\Ir. Samuel Pickering, who lived on 
Pickering's Island, and a sister of the late Captain Samuel 
Pickering, who lived near the Town House. They had 
two sons — John and Willard ; and the daughters were 
the wives of Mr. Benjamin Cole, the father of the present 
Mr. Enos Cole ; and of the late Mr. Joshua Haskell, the 
father of the present Messrs. Mark, Guildford D., and 
Joshua Haskell. Mr. Bray died not far from the year 
1835, and his wife survived him. His real estate passed 
into the hands of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and was sold to 
Mr. Ezekiel Marshall, the father of the present owner. 

Nathan Low came here from the county of Worcester, 
Massachusetts, prior to 1800, and he became owner of the 
land laid out to Joshua Staples ; he afterward was owner 
of one of the lots laid out to Mr. Thomas Thompson near 
Thompson's Cove and other lands in that vicinitv. He 
was by trade a tanner, which business he carried on for 
many years arid was probably one of the most skilful 
farmers that was ever in the town, engaging e.xten.sively 
in that pursuit. His wife was the daughter of Mr. Thomas 



144 



AM HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Thompson. She died in 1836. He afterward married 
Hannah, the daughter of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, some forty 
years younger than himself, and she died in a few years 
after her marriage. By his former wife he had three 
sons: Mr. Thomas T. Low, now dead; Nathan Low, Jr., 
who died a few years ago in consequence of the vessel of 
which he was then master having been run into by a 
steamer on the route from Portland easterly. Captain 
Low was thrown into the water, and being then nearly 
seventy years of age, the exposure caused his death shortly 
after. He was brought home, but lived only a few days. 
Another and the sole surviving son is the present Mr. 
William Low. None of the daughters remained here, and 
whether any of them are living is not known to us. Mr. 
Low was a major in the regiment of the militia to which 
the companies in this town belonged, and was known as 
Major Low. He was one of the selectmen of the town 
and was an influential citizen. He died in 1859, ^.t the 
age of ninety-four years. A brother of his in Massa- 
chusetts lived to be about one hundred years old. He 
acquried considerable property and settled his sons upon 
farms of which he was owner. He was a large, portly 
man, and as an officer in the militia must have made a 
fine appearance. I have been told by one who had seen 
both that he very much resembled the father of Daniel 
Webster. 

Amasa Holden came here as early as the year 1800, 
if not before. He was a native of the town of Mendon, 
Massachusetts, and was born in the year 1775. His wife 
was Abigail, the daughter of Mr. William Eaton, 2d. 
She was born in 1783. His profession was a school- 
teacher, which he practised till he was more than seventy 
years of age, a greater term of years than was ever prac- 



TOIVX OF DEER ISI.E, MAfXE. 145 

tiscd by any other person in this vicinity. He used to 
say that he had taught three generations, as he had for 
scholars during his later years the grandchildren of those 
who were his pupils in his earlier years. His family con- 
sisted of eleven children ; the sons were : Prescott P., 
a blockmaker by trade, now residing in Bangor ; William 
E., now a resident of the town of Tremont ; the late 
Samuel E., for many years a school-teacher ; the present 
Mr. Francis M. Holden ; and one son, who died young. 
One of the daughters was the wife of IMr. Willaby \ason, 
Jr., who removed to Belfast ; Hannah, who died un- 
married ; Mary, the wife of Mr. Thomas Howard, and now 
dead ; Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Stephen K. Howard, 
now dead ; and two married in Massachusetts. Mr. 
Holden occupied the farm and house now owned by his 
son, Mr. F"rancis M. Holden, the only survivor of the 
family here, and he died in 1853, at the age of seventy- 
eight years. His wife survived him. 

Peter Williams, a man of color, came here early. 
He was born in Virginia, a slave, and resided in the 
family of Mr. Mark Haskell. He married a woman of 
color, who was purchased when an infant by Mrs. Haskell. 
She was born in 1752, brought up in the family, and 
treated as one of the children. Her name was Phillis. 
Her first husband was a native of the State of Rhode 
Island, and he was named " Newport Rhodeisland." Wy 
that marriage she was the mother of one son. named 
" Reuben Rhodeisland," who was an enterprising man, 
and acquired considerable property. He was the former 
owner of the land and house now occupied by Mr. Eben 
F. Haskell, and he died in 1827. unmarried. His mother 
married Mr. Williams, by whom she had children. They 
were the owners of the real estate now occupied by Mr. 



146 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Oliver van Meter, formerly of Bangor, a son of the well- 
known Mr. Henry van Meter, who lived to a very great 
age. The son of Mrs. Williams, by her last marriage, 
died when a young man, and her daughter Phillis, in i8.?8, 
married Mr. Sydney Russell, whose daughter became the 
wife of Mr. Van Meter. Mr. Williams died many years 
ago, and his wife in 1835, aged eighty-four years. All his 
life Mr. Williams professed great attachment for Old 
Virginia, the State of his birth. 

John Foster, a native of Massachusetts, came here 
prior to the year 1800, and the lot of land lying south of 
that laid out to Jonathan Torrey was once occupied by 
him, and on the plan of the island it was allotted to him, 
but he must have purchased it as a "young settler." He 
was by trade a hatter, and for several years carried on 
that business at the Northwest Harbor, near the spot 
occupied by the shop of Mr. Israel B. Higgins. Mr. 
Foster married Mary, the eldest daughter of Ignatius 
Haskell, Esq., and they had one son — Mr. Eben B. Fos- 
ter — who removed to Boston, and was for several years 
one of the proprietors of The Boston Courier. Neither of 
their two daughters was married, nor did they remain 
here. Mr. Foster died in Boston when a very old man. 

James Joyce resided for many years on what is still 
known as the Joyce lot, lying north of the farm of Cap- 
tain Peter Hardy, Jr., now the property of Mr. John 
Thompson, but he was probably never its owner, as the 
lot purports on the plan to be that of Mr. Thomas Thomp- 
son. Mr. Joyce came here early and married the widow 
of Mr. Courtney Babbidge, Sr. Mr. Joyce came from the 
town of Marshfield, Massachusetts, or that vicinity, and 
by her second marriage, Mrs. Joyce had seven children.. 
The sons were Messrs. James, Ebenezer, and William 



TOJKV OF DEER ISLE, MA/.VE. 147 

Joyce, and the daughters were the wives of Mr. Jeremiah 
Weed, Captain Levi Torrey, Mr. John Stockbridge, and 
Captain Samuel Whitmore, and of the family Mrs. Torrey 
now survives. The sons removed to Swan's Island, and 
the two oldest remained there till their deaths. The other 
removed here in 1848. Of the daughters, Mrs. Weed and 
Mrs. Whitmore remained here. Mrs. Babbidge died in 
Ellsworth, and Mrs. Stockbridge on Swan's Island. 

Jesse Niles came here not far from the year 1800, 
from the State of New Hampshire. He was by trade a 
house-carpenter. His wife was a daughter of Deacon 
Caleb Haskell. After the removal of Deacon Haskell, 
Mr. Niles occupied his farm till a few years prior to 
his death, and after the death of his wife, in 1835, he 
married Miss Edna, the daughter of Mr. Naylor Small. 
By his first marriage he had four sons and two daughters ; 
none of them is now living. One of his sons, Mr. 
Mark A. H. Niles, was a minister ; first a Congrega- 
tionalist and afterward a Unitarian, and was for a short 
time pastor of the church of the latter denomination in 
Belfast, and died about the year 1840, at that place, a 
short time after he removed there. The other sons were 
John, Jesse, and Arthur ; the daughters married in 
Massachusetts. None of the family remained here. By 
his second marriage Mr. Niles had two sons, one now 
dead ; the other went from here. The two daughters 
remained and married here. After the death of her hus- 
band Mrs. Niles became the wife of Mr. Levi Greenlaw. 

Pearl Spofford, Esq. came here not long after the 
year 1800, in company with Mr. Samuel G. Town, with 
whom he formed a copartnership in trade. He was a 
native of the town of Pelham, New Hampshire, and his 
father's residence was not far from the line of the State 



148 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

of Massachusetts. It was his intention when he came 
East to stop at Fox Island Thoroughfare ; but when he 
came, early in the spring, that passage was closed with 
ice, and he came to this place, stopping in the Southwest 
Harbor. Finding that this town might be a profitable 
place for trade, he concluded to remain, and had his goods 
hauled to the Northwest Harbor, and for some time occu- 
pied a part of the house of Aaron S. Haskell as a store, 
boarding in his family. After some time he dissolved 
his connection with Mr. Town, who removed from here. 
He afterward formed a copartnership with his brother, 
Mr. Frederick Spofford, who was lost in the schooner 
S/iakespeare, in 18 18. They did a considerable business 
for the times, built vessels, and at one time owned con- 
siderable navigation. After the death of the junior 
member of the firm the subject of this notice continued 
the business alone for many years, and the last vessel of 
his building was in the year 1835 — a brig named the 
Frederick Pearl. His wife was Miss Sarah Averill, a 
native of Massachusetts, a very worthy lady, esteemed by 
all who knew her. She died in 1858. Their children 
were : the late Frederick P. Spofford, Esq., who died in 
1870; the present Hon. Charles A. Spofford; Edwin B. ; 
George W., who has been for several years a member 
of the board of selectmen ; and William H. Spofford, 
who has been for several years a deputy sheriff. 
The daughters were : Sarah, the wife of Dr. Amos A. 
Herrick, of Sedgwick, Maine, who practised medicine 
here. Some years afterward he removed to Sedgwick, 
where he died, and his widow is now dead. The other 
daughter was the wife of Dr. William F. Collins, who 
died in 1858, near the time of the death of Mrs. Spofford. 
She afterward became the wife of Hon. George Tolman, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 149 

who resided here ; and there were other children, who 
died when young. Mr. Spofford died in 1865, aged about 
eighty-seven years. He was for many years the most 
prominent man in the town, filling several town offices, 
was several times representative to the General Court at 
Boston, and was the representative, in 1821, to the Legis- 
lature of this State, and nearly all his life he took an 
active part in politics. He was in former times a Fed- 
eralist, afterward a Whig, and, after that party disbanded, 
became a Republican. He was postmaster from the first 
establishment of one here till 1838, when he was removed 
on political grounds. In 1841 he was reinstated and 
held the office till 1845. By the loss of the Shakespeare 
he suffered pecuniarily to quite a large amount, as he was 
the chief owner of the vessel and her cargo, which 
consisted of merchandise to be used in trade here. 
At hi.s death he was possessor of considerable property, 
chiefly in real estate, some of which was quite valuable, 
and next to Ignatius Haskell, Esq. was the largest owner 
of that kind of property in the town. He was an edu- 
cated man and very intelligent, and had a very large share 
of natural capacity. Had he chosen the law for a profes- 
sion he would have taken a high rank among others in 
this part of the State, and for a long time he had a good 
deal of influence here. He ever took a great interest in 
education and was liberal in the support of the gospel, 
though not a professor of religion. He was one of those 
men who, when they took hold of any matter, did so 
in earnest. The house he occupied is now owned by 
two of his sons, Messrs. C. A. and George W. Spofford. 
The store occupied by him is now taken down ; it was 
standing near the sail-loft of Mr. S. B. Haskell. The 
chief part, or nearly all, of the estate he left is now the 
property of his children. 



I50 



J.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Dr. David Angell came here as early as 1800, if not 
a little before. He was a native of the State of Rhode 
Island, and was born in 1770. His wife was Miss Abigail, 
the daughter of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and they had two 
sons — Amos, who was lost in the schooner SJiakespeare, 
and Moses C. Angell, whose wife was a daughter of Mr. 
Asa Green. She was then the widow of Mr. John R. 
Haskell, and the mother of the present Sylvanus G. 
Haskell, Esq. By the second marriage she had several 
children. The family removed to Hyde Park near Boston 
several years ago, where he died in 1876. The wife of 
Dr. Angell was for many years insane but very quiet. 
The loss of her son affected her very much, as it did her 
husband, for he was a young man of promise. Dr. Angell 
had for many years quite an extensive practice, in which 
he was very successful. He had a good education and 
much natural ability and was a great wit ; his observa- 
tions were often very appropriate. He was very well 
informed upon almost every subject and capable of im- 
parting a good deal of information ; and, when he chose, 
his conversation would be very instructive and pleasing. 
In the latter part of his life his practice was very limited, 
but upon some occasions, when a serious case occurred, his 
advice and assistance were sought, as he had had a large 
share of experience. In some cases, no doubt, his aid 
saved the life of the patient, or at least such was the opin- 
ion of those who might be presumed to know. During 
the administrations of Presidents Jefferson and Madison, 
he was an ofificer of the customs here, as his political 
opinions were those of the then Republican party. In 
religion he was rather inclined to be skeptical. He died 
in 1843, aged seventy-three years; his wife died a short 
time before him. 



TO WN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 5 I 

Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., a native of Salem, New 
Hampshire, came here in the spring of 1804, in company 
with Messrs. Jonathan Webster and Joseph and Samuel 
Noyes, who were of that vicinity. Mr. Rowell was by 
trade a blacksmith, but he did not work at the business 
here. His wife was Sarah, the daughter of Ignatius 
Haskell, Esq. She was born in 1789, or about that year. 
They had two sons, one dying in infancy ; the other, Mr. 
Philip R. Rowell, has for many years resided in Mas- 
sachusetts. None of the family remained here. Mr. 
Rowell was for many years a justice of the peace and was 
for some time in trade here, occupying as a store the 
lower part of the house now owned by Mr. Levi Scott, and 
he accumulated considerable property. After the death 
of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, he purchased his farm of his heirs, 
which was one of the most valuable ones in the town, and 
built a house upon it, which is now the property of the 
heirs of Mr. Joseph Sellers, 3d. The land was sold to dif- 
ferent individuals, and there are upon the lot of land which 
was the property of Mr. Morey more dwelling-houses than 
upon the lot of any other of the early settlers. He was a 
Representative to the General Court at Boston, at least 
twice prior to 1820. He removed from this town to 
Castine, where he resided several years ; afterward he 
returned, remaining till about 1824, when he returned to 
that place and for several years was in trade there and was 
once on the board of selectmen there. In about 1844 he 
returned here, lived a few years, and then removed to 
Hampden in this State, where he was a member of the 
family of one of his daughters, who resided there, and in 
that place he died. 

Aaron S. Haskell was the eldest son of Ignatius 
Haskell, Esq., and in the notice there was but little said of 



152 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

his family. As the sons were men of prominence in their 
day, it is proper to notice them. The one whose name 
heads this sketch lived here from the time of the removal 
of the family here in 1778, when he was but three years 
of age, till his death in 1864, at the age of eighty-nine 
years. He was by trade a tanner. The name of his 
first wife was Hannah Marshall, a daughter of Mr. Ezekiel 
Marshall, one of the early settlers, whom we have noticed. 
She had no children and died many years ago. In 1836 he 
married a widow who came here from the island of Cape 
Breton ; her place of residence there was the town known 
as Arachat not far from Louisburg. She was nearly forty 
years his junior in age, and they had a family. Only one 
of her sons by her marriage with Mr. Haskell now remains 
here, and one by her former marriage — the present Cap- 
tain Dennis Haskell, as he is called. They are both ener- 
getic and capable master-mariners. The house built by 
Mr. Haskell near the Northwest Harbor is still known as 
the Aaron Haskell house, and it is now the property of 
Captain John W. Green. After the death of his father, 
he had, as a part of his share of his real estate, the land 
and house formerly occupied by Dr. John Phillips. He 
resided there with his family after his marriage till his 
death ; his wife dying a few years before him. 

Mark Haskell was the second son in the family, and 
was born in 1785. His wife was Miss Hannah Beck 
Cross, of Newburyport ; she died in 1882, at the age of 
ninety-three years, and her bodily and mental powers were 
very remarkable for one of her extreme age. Mr. Haskell 
went into trade at Castine, in company with his brother-in- 
law, Mr. Jonathan L. Stevens, but afterward returned here. 
While his health permitted, he was in trade here in the 
store owned by him, opposite the Green House. He was 



rOlV.V OF DEE A' ISLE, MAIXE. 153 

an honest and capable man and was much respected. He 
had no family and died not far from the year 1847. His 
wife came into possession of his property, a part of which 
was the house owned and occupied by his father, after- 
ward sold to the late Captain William Haskell and now 
the property of his widow. Some years after the death of 
her husband, Mrs. Haskell married a Mr. Porter, of Lyme, 
New Hampshire, now dead. After his death she returned 
here and resided with a daughter of her sister Mrs. 
Raynes. 

Ignatius Haskell, Jr., the third son of the family, 
resided at the northern part of the island ; first, upon the 
farm afterward the property of Captain Amos Howard, and 
afterward upon that now occupied by his son Mr. Albion 
K. Haskell. His wife was Sarah, the daughter of Mr. 
William Eaton, 2d, by whom he had one son and several 
daughters — one of whom was a deaf-mute. One of them 
was the wife of the late Mr. A, C. Gordon ; the other, that 
of Captain Oliver Howard, now of Gloucester, Massachu- 
setts, — the last of whom only is now living. Mrs. Gordon 
died in 1878, aged fifty-eight years. Mr. Haskell was, 
during the War of 18 12, in command of a company of 
the militia ; by trade he was a house-carpenter. He died 
not many years before 1850; his wife died in 1876, aged 
eighty-four years. 

Solomon Haskell, the youngest son of the family, 
was born in 1794 and was the first child born- in the Has- 
kell house, not long after his parents moved into it. His 
wife was Miss Joanna Carman, the daughter of Mr. John 
Carman, and sister of the present Mr. Levi Carman. 
They had four sons and five daughters, the former being 
Messrs. Hezckiah R., Charles S., and Eben F. Haskell ; 
the other, Philip R., died not far from 1864. The daugh- 



154 ^^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

ters were the wives of Mr. Nathan E. Weed, at present 
the widow of Captain William Haskell. Another was the 
wife of the late Captain David E. Adams, lost at sea. 
Another was that of Mr. Samuel E. Powers. Another 
was that of Mr. William Bell. The other died unmarried. 
Of the above, Mrs. Powers is not living, and Mrs. Haskell, 
only, resides here. Mr. Haskell was twice representative 
to the State Legislature, in 1826 and 1848. He was for 
several years one of the selectmen. He was a prominent 
man and was in trade many years formerly, in company 
with the late Benjamin F. Fergerson, Esq.. and after a 
dissolution of the copartnership, he was in trade alone. 
He died in 1867, or about that time, and his widow sur- 
vived him some ten years. His son, Mr. Eben F. Haskell, 
occupies the house and homestead of his father and is 
proprietor of the tanyard which was his father's property, 
in which in former years a considerable business was done. 
Joseph Noyes, mentioned as coming in 1804 with Mr. 
Hezekiah Rowell, resided here till his death, in 1850, or 
about that time. He was a native of Atkinson, New 
Hampshire, and was by trade a house and ship joiner and 
a very skilful workman. His wife, as we have stated, was 
the daughter of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, and she survived her 
husband. Their sons were : Mr. John M. Noyes, who 
removed to Mount Desert, where he lived many years ; 
Alexander N., who removed to Castine, and thence to 
Massachusetts ; Henry A., who removed to Massachusetts ; 
Joseph, now in Castine ; and Albert O., now in the Terri- 
tory of Arizona. Of the daughters, one only remains 
here — the wife of Mr. Hezekiah R. Haskell. Another 
was the wife of Mr. Joshua E. Haskell, a son of Mr. 
Edward Haskell, who removed to Fairfield in this State, 
where he was accidentally killed. The others married in 



TOWiV OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. I 55 

Other places. Mr. Noyes was a very sensible, capable man, 
and he filled several town offices. His homestead is now 
the property of Mr. William E. Gray, 

Rev. Joseph Brown came here in 1804, or about that 
time, and was settled as pastor over the church here as the 
immediate successor of Rev. Peter Powers, and he resided 
in the house known as the Parsonage House, now the 
property of Rev. Hiram Houston. He was educated by 
the well-known Lady Huntington at the same place of 
instruction, and, I think, at about the same time, as Rev. 
Mr. Milton, of Newburyport, who in his day was quite cel- 
ebrated as a preacher. He was born in England, in 1760, 
or about that year, and continued here till his death. He 
was said to have been a preacher of ability and was a man 
of education. He brought a family, among whom were 
the late Rev. Charles M. Brown, well known in this 
vicinity a few years ago. He was settled in Tremont, 
Maine, and resided there several years, but a large part of 
his later years he made this town his home, as his wife 
was dead. In his former years he followed the sea, and 
later became a good preacher ; he was a very singular 
man. Another son was Philemon. Another was Amer- 
icus. Another was Joseph. None of them made this 
town his home. A daughter was a Mrs. Davenport, 
of Newburyport, and about the family, except Rev. Charles 
M. Brown, but little is known. In the time of the War of 
181 2 the sympathies of the subject of this sketch were 
very strongly in favor of Great Britain, and he carried 
them into the pulpit : a practice to be condemned, as it is 
of no benefit to a cause and productive of much injury 
to religion. This made him many enemies, and many in 
the southern part of the town, members of the church and 
congregation, dissolved their connection with the church 



156 ^A" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

and abandoned the place of worship. The result was the 
formation of a church of the Baptist order, in what is 
known now as South Deer Isle. This affected him to a 
great degree and had an effect upon his mind injurious to 
himself. At last his church and parish dissolved their 
connection with him, which so harrowed him that he died 
shortly after, in 18 19. His remains lie in the burying- 
ground near the Town House, over which a stone was 
placed, but it was removed by his son several years ago, 
and where it is now we do not know. 

Samuel Pickering settled what is known as Picker- 
ing's Island, not included in our territorial limits, but as 
he was in his day well known here, it seems proper to 
notice him. Whether he ever resided in the town we do 
not know, but all his family known to us, with but one 
exception, did so, and died here. His wife was a daughter 
of Mr. Elijah Dunham, Sr., and sister to Mr. Elijah 
Dunham, who died in 1842. His sons were Mr. Daniel 
Pickering, the father of the late Mr, Richard Pickering ; 
the present Mr. Thomas Pickering ; and another lived 
in Orland. The daughters were the wives of Mr. John 
Bray, son of Mr. William Bray ; of the late Mr. Willard 
Cole, and of Mr. Nathan Ball. His wife was Miss Mary 
Hayden, of a family who then resided here, but of whom 
nothing is now known to us. Mr. Daniel Pickering 
resided on Greenlaw's Neck, near the place now occupied 
by his son. He died not far from the year 1850 ; his wife 
dying a few years earlier. 

Captain Samuel Pickering was another son of the 
family of the subject of this sketch. His wife was a 
daughter of Mr. Benjamin Cole, the second of the name, 
upon whose land Captain Pickering settled. His former 
place of residence is now the property of the widow of the 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 57 

late Mr. Mark H. Bray, and the house occupied by him at 
the time of his death is now the property of Mr. Geor^^e 
W. Bray. It is near the Town House. Captain Pickering 
was a master-mariner, a very active man, and accumulated 
property. He died several years ago. His wife survived 
him for several years, dying in i860 or about that time. 
Their family consisted of two sons and seven daughters ; 
the sons being the present Messrs. Aaron D. and Timothy 
B. Pickering. The latter is a man of property, owns con- 
siderable navigation, and has been in trade many years. 
The daughters were the wives of Mr. Willaby N. Bray ; 
Mr. William Torrey, before referred to, who died on a 
passage to California ; Mr. Nathan W. Sawyer ; Captain 
Robert Kelsey ; a Mr. Wilkinson, of Massachusetts ; Mr. 
David Torrey, 2d ; and Captain Dudley Pressey, the latter 
of whom only now resides here. The others, with the 
exception of Mrs. Wilkinson, are dead. 

The daughters of Mr. Samuel Pickering, Sr. were the 
wives of Mr. William Bray and of a Mr. Davis. The 
latter did not reside here. The time of the death of Mr. 
Pickering we do not know. 

David Sawyer came here not far from the year 1800, 
from some place in the vicinity of Newburyport. He was 
born on the day of the Declaration of Independence, July 
4, 1776, and was by trade a house and ship joiner. In the 
latter business he had a good deal of practice and was a 
very good workman. His wife was Miss Rebecca Crock- 
ett, the daughter of Mr. Robinson Crockett. Their sons 
were Nathan W., Admiral G., Mark H., David, and Abel 
Sawyer, the first and last of whom are now dead. David 
Sawyer, Jr. has for some thirty years resided in Castine, 
and Abel, before his death, lived in the town of Sedgwick. 
The daughters were the wives of Mr. Ezekiel Marshall, 



158 ^^'V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Mr. Samuel G. Barbour, Captain James G. Bray, and the 
late Mr. Mark H. Bray, all of whom except Mrs. Marshall 
are now (1882) living. The wife of Mr. Sawyer died 
not far from the year 1838, and he survived her twenty 
years or more. By the death of a brother in Groveland, 
Massachusetts, he came into possession of about ten 
thousand dollars, and at his death it was divided among 
his children. Mr. Sawyer was one of the most singular 
men I ever saw. He possessed an extraordinary memory, 
was a great reader, and, of course, possessed a great deal 
of information, for he retained what he read. A good 
mechanic, an honest man in his dealings, his word was 
good, for whatever he promised he performed. 

Avery Fifield, a native of Haverhill, New Hampshire, 
came here not long after 1800, and was at the time an 
apprentice to Mr. Jesse Niles, who has been noticed. For 
several years after the end of his term as an apprentice 
he worked at the trade of a house-carpenter. His wife 
was Miss Sarah, the daughter of Micajah Lunt. She was 
born February 6, 1786, and is now dead. They had a 
family of twelve children, all but one of whom lived to man- 
hood and womanhood. The sons were : the late Captain 
Joseph Fifield, who died in 1874; Avery, in 1869; Eben- 
ezer S. ; Thomas S. ; George, a deaf-mute ; and John J. 
The daughters were the wives of Messrs. William Sweet- 
sir ; Thomas Small, a son of Mr. Edward Small ; Silvious 
Simpson ; Captain Stephen B. Morey ; and Captain Jere- 
miah H. Greenlaw; all of whom, with the exception of Mrs. 
Simpson, are now living. Mr. Fifield formerly lived near 
Small's Cove, but afterward purchased a lot of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres lying on the south side of Burnt 
Cove. He removed there not far from 1812 ; at which 
time there was not a settlement in that part of the 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 159 

town south of the residence of Mr. Samuel Small. His 
first house stood not far from the spot upon which 
the house of Captain Morey now stands. He afterward 
removed to the place now occupied by Mr. Thomas F. 
Fifield, upon which he built the house now standing. 
After a few years he went into the fishing business, 
owning several vessels, and continuing in it till the time 
cf his death, which took place in September, 1845, at the 
age of si.xty-two years. He was a representative to the 
Legislature in 1836 and 1844, and had considerable 
influence, especially with those of his own political party. 
He was a warm-hearted man, ready to relieve those who 
might be in distress, and was one of those men who meant 
what they said. 

Captain David Thurlow was a native of Newbury, 
in the State of Massachusetts, and was born in the year 
1775 ; he well remembered the "dark day" in 1780. His 
father, ^Ir. Abram Thurlow, was suffocated by going 
into a deep well, which had been long disused and 
covered up, when the subject of this notice was but a 
boy ; and he, with a brother of his wife, a Mr. Boynton, 
were soldiers in what is known as the Old French War, 
and were at the second attack upon Louisburg. His son 
David came here, where he had an aunt, the wife of Mr. 
Joseph Colby, Sr., and afterward resided in the family of 
Mr, Joseph Colby, Jr., whose wife was his sister. Mr. 
Colby for some time resided upon what is known as Thur- 
low's Island. He and the subject of this sketch built a 
sawmill. There was an excellent privilege on that island 
which did considerable business in the sawing of lumber, 
as there were in that vicinity logs in abundance con- 
veniently near. After a few years Mr. Colby removed, 
and Captain Thurlow carried on the business alone, pur- 



l6o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

chasing the interest of Mr. Colby in the island and the mill. 
He built several vessels on the island, about seventeen in 
all, I believe : one brig of one hundred and forty tons, 
two or more coasting-schooners and fishing-vessels, and 
at one time owned quite a number. Some of them 
were of large size for those days and did a good deal of 
business for the times, employing many men. He accu- 
mulated considerable property and at one time was one of 
the most wealthy men in the town, but in the latter part 
of his life became somewhat reduced. His wife was 
Mercy, the daughter of Samuel Trundy, and they were the 
parents of twelve children. The sons were Jeremiah, 
David, Caleb S., Moody, and Paul Thurlow ; the last two 
only are now living. The daughters were the wives of 
Captain Levi Babbidge, Mr. Aaron Babbidge, Captain 
Peter P. Tyler, Captain Nathan Raynes, and afterward 
that of Mr. Charles Collier, of Charlestown, Massachu- 
setts, and the present wife of Sullivan Green, Esq. 
Three of them are now living. He was a captain in the 
militia at the time that station was considered an 
honor, and from that circumstance he was always styled 
Captain Thurlow. He died in 1857, at the age of eighty- 
two years. He and his wife, who died in i860, were very 
charitable, and in the days of their prosperity they 
remembered the poor, for which their names are still 
respected. He was a very observing and sensible man, 
although he had but little education, possessed a sound 
judgment, was one of the selectmen of the town, and in 
1829 represented the town in the Legislature. 

Rev. Samuel Allen came here not far from 18 10. 
He was a native of the town of Columbia, in the county of 
Washington ; and was, we believe, the first or one of the 
first pastors of the Baptist Church here, continuing in 



TOIVX Of DEER IS/.E, MAIXE. i6l 

that capacity for several years, often preach ini,^ on Isle 
au Haut and at other places in this vicinity. He was for 
a time quite popular and had many friends, but for some 
reason many became dissatisfied, and he ceased to be their 
pastor, and for many years he did not preach. He was 
born in 1778. His wife was Miss Lois Look. They 
had four sons — George, Daniel, Samuel, and William. 
George died at sea, and Daniel married his widow for his 
second wife and afterward removed to Levant, near Ban- 
gor, where he purchased a farm, and sailed as master of a 
vessel out of Bangor. Samuel died some ten years ago. 
William a few years since moved to Portland. The 
daughters were : Hannah, the wife of Mr. Isaac Crockett, 
and afterward of Mr. Samuel W. Emerson ; Ann, the wife 
of Mr. Reuben Small, whom we mentioned as being- 
burned to death in 1827: afterward she became the wife 
of Mr. W'ard, of Addison, Maine ; Louisa, the wife of 
Mr. Thomas Crockett, who moved to St. Andrew's, New- 
Brunswick ; and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Levi Scott, — only 
the last of whom resides here. Mr. Allen died in 1833, 
at Levant, at the age of fifty-five years, his wife surviving 
him more than thirty years. He was a man of much 
natural talent, and for many years was a successful 
preacher although his education was limited, antl if he 
had had advantages might have taken a comparativelv 
high rank in his profession. He lived at what is known 
as Allen's Cove, near Green's Landing. 

J.VMES DuNCAX came here as earl)' as 1800, or not long 
after. He was a native of Massachusetts, and was born in 
1779. His wife was the eldest daughter of Captain Ben- 
jamin Stockbridge, whom we have noticed, and he settled 
at what is now known as Green's Landing. There had 
been but one person who had lived there, who was named 



l62 --^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Grover, who left shortly after Mr. Duncan went there, so 
that we may consider the latter as its first permanent 
settler, although Thurlow's Island near there was 
occupied before that time ; and, from the south side of 
Crockett's Cove by the southern shore of the island as far 
as Webb's Cove, his was the only dwelling-house for some 
time. He was engaged for a while in the manufacture 
of salt from sea-water, the process of which has been 
described, and was engaged in chopping wood and proba- 
bly did more of that than any other man in the town ever 
did. He took up quite an extensive tract of land and 
afterward built another house about two hundred rods 
from the shore, where he spent nearly all the rest of his 
life. His wife dying, he, after her death, resided with his 
children, and died in the family of his son in Rockland, 
when nearly ninety years of age. The children of the 
family were,: James, the son just referred to, now dead ; 
Mary, the wife of Mr. Robert Barter, who resided on what 
is known as Wreck Island, within the limits of the town 
as established in 1868 ; Elizabeth, the wife of Captain 
John Barter, of Isle au Haut ; Abigail, who was first the 
wife of Mr. John Sellers, who was lost in Chaleur Bay 
with Captain David Colby, in the schooner Georgiaiia of 
Castine, in 1S39: afterward she was the wife of Mr. 
Stephen Colby ; and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Levi Weed, 
who several years ago removed to Rockland, and afterward 
to South Thomaston, where he died not many years ago. 
All the daughters are living except the wife of Mr. Colby. 
Mr. Duncan was for several years before his death afflicted 
with shaking palsy and was always a hard-working man. 
Moses Gross came here not long after 1800 from 
Boston, and was by trade a mason. He was known as 
Mason Gross, to distinguish him from Mr. George Gross, 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 163 

who, as has been statetl, was known as Citizen Gross : but 
they were not relatives. He at one time did considerable 
business at his trade in Boston, but becoming somewhat 
reduced in circumstances, he moved from that place here. 
He was for much of the time employed at his trade 
here, doing nearly all the work in his line. He died in 
1822, at Castine, while employed upon a block of brick 
stores there. His wife was a native of Boston, and was 
born in 1773, about the time of the destruction of the tea 
in Boston Harbor ; she died here in the family of her 
daughter, Mrs. Pressey, in 1862, at the age of eighty-nine 
years. After the death of her first husband, she, in 1830, 
or about that time, became the wife of Ignatius Haskell, 
Esq. Her children were Samuel P., James, Isaac, the late 
Mr. Frederick A. Gross, and Margaret, the wife of Mr. 
John Leman, of Boston. After her death he married her 
sister Martha. Mary was the first wife of Captain Jere- 
miah Thurlow, and Harriet is the wife of Mr. Sylvanus G. 
Pressey. Another daughter never married. Of the family 
Mrs. Pressey is the sole survivor. Her son, Mr. Samuel 
P. Gross, followed the occupation of his father. James 
was a master-mariner and died after a very short illness in 
1828. Mr. Frederick A. Gross died in 18S1. 

JoxATii.xN ToKREV, 2d. — In noticing the family of Mr. 
Jonathan Torrey, I briefly noticed his sons. One of them 
was the subject of this sketch, who in his lifetime was as 
well known as any other person in the town. He was one 
with whom I was very well acquainted. He was born here 
in 1774, and his wife was Miss Prudence, daughter of 
Captain Belcher Tyler. He followed the sea for many 
years, and for nineteen consecutive years he was master of 
a vessel employed in the Labrador cod-fishery, the last 
year being 1824, as the fisheries then had failed to 



164 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

that extent that it was no longer a profitable business. 
He continued to follow the sea, sometimes in the fishing 
and sometimes in the coasting business, till 1832 or 1833, 
when he abandoned it and turned his attention to his 
farm, which, as we have stated, was the one occupied by 
Mr. John Billings, adjoining that of William Eaton on 
the Reach shore. He was a man of integrity and enter- 
prise, and the time and cause of his death have been stated 
in the notice of his father, and his sons mentioned. His 
widow outlived him about twenty-five years. The real 
estate owned by him is now in the possession of his heirs. 

David Torrey was the eldest brother in the family, 
and lived for many years near the road leading from the 
Northwest Harbor toward the Reach. He was a very 
eccentric man, and died in 1858 at the age of ninety years. 
His wife was Mrs. Martha Robbins, a daughter of Mr. 
Charles Sellers, and they had no children. She had three 
by her former husband, none of whom remained here. 
She has been noticed in the sketch of the family of her 
father as dying in 1879, at' the great age of ninety-seven 
years. 

Captain John Torrey was another of the sons of Mr. 
Jonathan Torrey, and he was for many years a master- 
mariner, and made several voyages in the Labrador fish- 
ing. He was a capable and intelligent man. His wife 
was Miss Dorothy, a daughter of Captain Jonathan Has- 
kell, and a sister to the wife of his brother Mr. David 
Torrey. They had no children, but adopted a daughter of 
Mr. Josiah Gray when she was very young, who took their 
name and was afterward the wife of Mr. Joshua Pressy, 
2d. She is now a widow, and occupies the homestead 
of her adopted father. The other members of the family 
of Mr. Jonathan Torrey have been dead, with the excep- 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 1 5c 

tion of Mrs. Eaton, for several years, and have been quite 
extensively noticed. The limits of this work would pre- 
clude any further sketches, as the persons who would be 
the subjects of most of them have passed out of the 
memory of most of the persons now living here. 

William Raynes, 2d, the son of Captain John Raynes, 
was in his day very well known, not only here, but in 
other places, as he for many years was a master-mariner, 
and throughout his long life maintained an unblemished 
reputation, which was well known wherever he was 
acquainted. He was born in September, 1778. His wife 
was Miss Ruth, the daughter of Captain Edmund Sylves- 
ter. He followed the sea until sixty years of age, and 
resided upon the farm first taken up by Mr. Samuel 
Raynes, which was purchased by Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
of whom it was purchased by the subject of this sketch 
not long after 1800. He built a house upon the lot, which 
is now in a state of decay. The children of the marriage 
were: William, who died in 1832, aged twenty-three 
years ; Edward S., whose first wife was Mary A., the 
daughter of Mr. John Howard, and the second a Miss 
Small, of Ncwburyport, in which place he now resides ; 
George, who died in 1836, in New York; Abiel who 
was shipwrecked on Martha's Vineyard, in 1846, being 
one of the crew of the brig Li/ico/n of this town. He 
died shortly after reaching the shore, and was there 
buried. He married Susan, the daughter of Captain 
Henry Lufkin, Jr., a sister of the present Captain H. T. 
Lufkin. She afterward became the wife of Mr. Robert 
Clark, of Castine, where she is now living. Another 
brother was the late Mr. Aaron B. Raynes, whose wife 
was Miss Mary M., a daughter of the late Mr. Thomas 
Sellers, of Bangor, a son of Mr. William, and brother to 



1 66 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

the present Mr. Amos Sellers. Mr. A. B. Raynes was 
formerly one of the selectmen, and- represented this town 
in the year 1871 in the Legislature. In that year he 
removed from this place to the State of Missouri. He 
afterward came East and resided in Norwich, Connecticut, 
where he died in 1881, at the age of fifty-nine years. 
Another son is the present Captain Eben E. Raynes, 
whose wife was Miss Elizabeth, daughter of the late 
Benjamin F. Ferguson, Esq. He is the only member of 
the family now residing here. The youngest son was Mr. 
Benjamin Raynes, who went from here in 1854 to Cali- 
fornia, afterward returning, and now resides in Gloucester, 
Massachusetts. The daughters were : Susan, the wife of 
George L. Hosmer ; she died in 1868. Elizabeth, the wife 
of Mr. Charles S. Torrey ; she died in 1853. Caroline, the 
wife of Mr. Jason Webb ; she died in Gloucester, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1857. Of the family of twelve children but 
three are now living. Captain Edmund S. Raynes the 
second son, was for many years an active master-mariner, 
making several voyages to the East Indies. The date of 
the death of Captain Raynes has been stated and also 
his age. His wife died in 1852. 

The second son of the family was Captain John Raynes, 
who, as we have mentioned, moved to Newburyport. We 
have before given a brief notice of him, and, as he was for 
the most part of his life a resident of that place, we do 
not deem it necessary to notice him any further, except 
to state that he returned to this place a few years prior to 
his death, which took place in 1862, at the age of seventy- 
eight years. He was twice married, but left no children. 

Joseph Raynes was the third son in the family, and 
his wife was Betsey, the daughter of Mr. Nathan Johnson. 
Two of their sons, Captain John J. and Horatio G. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, .VALVE. 167 

Raynes, now reside in Hyde Park, Massachusetts, and one, 
Nathan Raynes, resides here. One married daughter, 
Mrs. Lucas, is a resident of Methuen, Massachusetts, and 
one is a resident of Hyde Park, the wife of B. B. Haskell. 
One is single, who makes the house of her deceased father 
her residence in the summer, while the rest of the time 
she lives in Boston. Captain Raynes followed the sea and 
the fishing business many years. Both he and his wife 
died within forty-eight hours of each other, in April, 1859, 
and their remains occupy one grave. 

Benjamin Raynes was the remaining son, and his wife 
was Miss Sabrina, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Whitmore, 
Jr., who, as has been stated, lost his life in 18 14, by 
drowning, at the same time with Mr. John Eaton. Of 
the family two now remain. The eldest daughter was first 
the wife of Captain Henry I. Lufkin, who was master of 
the brig Baron De Castiue of Castine, and died on board 
her on the coast of Africa, in i860. She afterward was 
the wife of Mr. Israel B. Grindle, of Penobscot. She 
died in May, 1881. Another was the wife of Mr. Edward 
P. Haskell, and is now dead. The others reside in Auburn, 
Maine. One is the wife of Mr. Alvin B. Saunders ; the 
other is unmarried. In 1846 Captain Raynes, then master 
of the brig Lincoln of this town, was wrecked on Martha's 
Vineyard. The brig being heavily loaded with lumber, 
with spars on deck, was knocked down, righting after the 
masts were cut away, and for four days in the latter jiart 
of November the crew were on deck without food or 
water, drenched with sea-water. Two of the crew, 
William Adams and Richard Brown, died before the vessel 
went on shore ; and soon after she struck, the mate, Mr. 
Benjamin J. Saunders, in attempting to reach the shore, 
was drowned, leaving three on board, who, when the tide 



1 68 A^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

had ebbed, reached the land — one of whom, Mr. Abiel 
S. Raynes, soon after laid down and died. He had lost 
his hat when the brig was knocked down and was more 
drenched than the others with salt water. The two 
remaining, Captain Raynes and Mr. Charles H. Saun- 
ders, attempted to reach a house at about half a mile's 
distance from the shore, but they were seen and assistance 
was rendered. The exposure and suffering caused Cap- 
tain Raynes to become prematurely old, and he died at 
sea in 1861, at the age of fifty-eight years, his wife dying 
in 1859. He was for several years engaged in the Banks 
fishery and was master of vessels from Castine in that 
pursuit, but for several years prior to his death he was 
engaged in the coasting business. 

Captain Henry Lufkin was a son of the Mr. Benja- 
min Lufkin mentioned, who came here from Gloucester, 
and he was at the time of the removal about fifteen years 
of age. He resided here the remainder of his life, and 
was master of a vessel in the coasting business many 
years. He purchased a farm of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
which was a part of the land formerly occupied by Mr. 
Robinson Crockett, and he resided upon it till his death. 
His first wife was Miss Betsey Robinson, and by her he 
had two sons — the late Captain Henry Lufkin, who died 
in 1868, and Captain Joseph R. Lufkin, who died in 1851 
— and two daughters. One was the wife of Mr. Timothy 
Saunders, and the other was the wife of Captain Ebenezer 
Beardsley, then of Boston, but a native of Damariscotta, 
Maine. Both of the daughters are now dead. The 
second wife of Captain Lufkin, the subject of this notice, 
was Miss Betsey Raynes, and by her he had two sons and 
two daughters. One son is the present Captain Mark H. 
Lufkin, and the other died when a young man in the West 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. I 69 

Indies. One of the daughters was the wife of the late 
Johnson Raynes ; the other died unmarried, and of the 
family Captain M. H. Lufkin is the sole survivor. The 
death of Captain Lufkin took place in 1839, at the age of 
sixty-four years, and that of his wife in 1858, at the age of 
seventy-eight years. His real estate is now the property 
of his son, who occupies it. 

Daniel Lufkin was a brother of the subject of the 
preceding notice. He was born in 1785. His first wife 
was Sarah, the daughter of Captain John Raynes. Of 
their family three now remain : Mr. Benjamin Lufkin, 
who resides here ; Mr. Theophilus Lufkin, of Castine ; 
and a daughter is now the wife of Mr. Miles Gardiner, of 
that town. One son, Mr. Daniel Lufkin, Jr., was drowned 
by stepping off a wharf in Bangor several years ago, 
leaving a family. Two other sons died when young men, 
unmarried. The wife of Mr. Lufkin died in 1828. For 
his second wife he married Mrs. Patience Snow, the 
daughter of Mr. Thomas Colby, by whom he had three 
sons and one daughter. One son was drowned ; another 
removed from here, and one, the present Mr. Henry F. 
Lufkin, and the daughter, the wife of Mr. Edwin Tyler, 
reside here. Mr. Lufkin died in 1871, at the age of 
eighty-six years. His wife died a year or two after. 

EzEKiEL Alexander came here many years ago from 
Harpswell, Maine. He was well known here. Two of his 
sisters resided here — one the wife of Mr. George Gross ; 
the other that of Mr. Solomon Marshall. The wife of 
Mr. Alexander was Polly Eaton, a daughter of Mr. Elia- 
kim Eaton, the oldest son of Major William Eaton. She 
was born in 1776. After her marriage she had two daugh- 
ters, one of whom married in Massachusetts. The other 
is the well known Avis Alexander. He died not far from 



lyo ^^" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1850, and was not far from ninety years of age. His wife 
was well known as a wandering character, gathering herbs, 
etc., while she remained able. She afterward became an 
inmate of the poorhouse, and died in 1869, at the age of 
ninety-three years. 

Joseph Clifton came here many years ago and was 
well known. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts, 
according to his own account, in 1771. His wife was a 
daughter of Mr. John Scott and the widow of Mr. Ebene- 
zer Ball. By Mr. Clifton she had three daughters : one is 
the present wife of Mr. Thomas Low ; another, that of 
Captain William Torrey, who died in 1881 ; the other 
married in Massachusetts. He was a very singular man 
and for many years did not live with his family, preferring 
to roam about, not remaining long in any one place. He 
spent considerable time in Winterport and in that vicinity. 
By trade he was a shoemaker. When, by reason of age, 
he became incapable of labor, he returned here, where he 
spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1865, at the age 
of ninety-four. His wife died not far from 1870, aged 
eighty-five years. 

Simon Smith came here not far from 1800. He was 
the son of Mr. Abiatha Smith, one of the early settlers of 
Isle au Haut, and he was born in Thomaston. His wife 
was Miss Lydia, the youngest daughter of Mr. Thomas 
Small, Sr., and they had a family of twelve children. Of 
the sons the eldest, Simon Smith, died on Isle au Haut, in 
1835, of smallpox. The next in age. Captain Benjamin 
Smith, was lost at sea while master of a vessel belonging 
to Winterport, at which place he resided. The next in 
age was the late Mr. Samuel Smith, who represented this 
town in the Legislature in 1854. Another is the present 
Mr. John Smith. One, Chase Smith, died when a young 



TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. IJI 

man. The daughters were the wives of Messrs. William 
Webb, James Saunders, 2d, Alexander N. Noyes, Henry 
A. Noyes, Paul T. Lane ; all of this town. Another was 
the wife of a Mr. Foote and afterward of Mr. Joshua 
Fuller, Esq., of Thomaston. The other was that of Mr. 
James Babbidge, 2d, of North Haven, but now a resident 
of Falmouth, Maine. Mr. Smith died a few years prior to 
i860, and his wife did not long survive him. The farm 
owned by him was sold by his heirs and is now the prop- 
erty of Captain H. T. Lufkin. 

William Sellers was a native of York, Maine, and 
was born in 1775. He came here early with his father, 
Mr. William Sellers, a brother of Messrs. Charles and 
Joseph Sellers, but he did not acquire a settler's right. 
The subject of this notice, with the rest of the family, 
remained here till their deaths, with the exception of their 
father, who removed to York and died there. The wife 
of Mr. Sellers was Miss Abigail, daughter of Mr. Thomas 
Small, Sr., and their children were: (i) Mr. William 
Sellers, Jr., who lived not far from Burnt Cove ; (2) Mr. 
David Sellers, who lived on Stinson's Neck ; (3) Mr. 
Thomas Sellers, who died of the cholera in 1849, in Ban- 
gor ; (4) Mr. John Sellers, who was lost in Chaleur Bay, 
in 1 839, — one of the crew of the schooner Georgiana 
of Castine, Captain David Colby, master ; (5 and 6) the 
present Messrs. Ebenezer S. and Amos Sellers. Of the 
two daughters, one was the wife of Mr. John Conary, 
and the other that of Mr. William Fife, who formerly 
resided on Swan's Island. Of the family two only now 
are living. The dates of the deaths of Mr. Sellers and 
his wife were not far from 1850. His property is now 
owned and occupied by his son, Mr. Amos Sellers. The 
brother of Mr. Sellers removed to Brooklin, Maine, many 



172 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

years ago. The sisters were the wives of Mr. Thomas 
Conary, 2d, Mr. Ebenezer Jordan, Mr. Stephen Dow, and 
she was the third wife of Mr. Stephen Babbidge. The 
other was the first wife of Captain James Torrey. 

Elias Morey was the eldest son of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, 
who came among the earhest settlers. He was born in 
1 76 1 and remained here till his death, which took place 
not far from the year 1845. His wife was a Miss Robin- 
son, and she was sister to the wives of William Raynes, 
senior of the name here, and of Captain Henry Lufkin, 
and they had a family of thirteen children. The sons 
were : the late Mr. William Morey, the father of the 
present Mr. Levi B. Morey, and whose wife was a daugh- 
ter of Mr. Robinson Crockett. Another was the late Mr. 
Elias Morey, Jr., who died on Swan's Island. Another 
was Charles Morey, who went away and died when a 
young man. Another was Mr. Ezekiel Morey, who died 
many years ago. The other was Mr. Joseph Morey, the 
father of the man now in this town of the same name. 
They all are dead. The daughters were the wives of 
Mr. Joseph Cole, Hezekiah Robbins, Elijah Dunham, Mark 
Robbins, and Abram Holbrook — all of this town ; and 
there were others who were married in other places. For 
some years Mr. Morey resided upon a part of his father's 
farm, and his right was purchased by Deacon Joshua 
Haskell ; after that he resided the most of the time on 
Greenlaw's Neck, where he died a few years after his 
wife's death. 

Naylor Small has been mentioned as one of the sons 
of Mr. Job Small. He was born in 1772. His wife was 
the daughter of Mr. Levi Carman, the early settler of that 
name. Of his family there was one son, the late Mr, 
Calvin Small. The daughters were the wives of Captain 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 73 

Tristram Haskell, Jr. and Mr. Charles Walton, of Spruce 
Head Island, both of whom are now dead. Another was 
the wife of Mr. Jesse Niles, and the present wife of Mr, 
Levi Greenlaw. Another, the wife of the late Mr. Fred- 
erick A. Gross. One died unmarried. Mr. Small died in 
1863, at the age of ninety-one years ; his wife died a few 
years before. His property passed into the hands of his 
son, by whom it was occupied till his death. 

Michael Small, Esq. was the youngest son of Mr. 
Job Small. He was born in 1779. His wife was Miss 
Deborah Perkins, of Castine. They had a large family, 
most of whom died young. Three sons : the present Mr. 
Michael Small ; the late Mr. Frederick Small ; and Mr. 
Robert P. Small, who removed to Gloucester, Massachu- 
setts, and is now dead. Two daughters : one is the 
wife of Mr. William Small ; the other died, unmarried, not 
long after the death of her father, which took place in 
1837, after a most distressing illness. His wife survived 
him about twenty years, residing with her son, Mr. Michael 
Small, who owns and occupies a part of the property left 
by his father. Mr. Small was for many years a justice 
of the peace, an enterprising farmer, and accumulated 
considerable property. 

Charles Chatto, Michael Ready, and John Fixney 
came here about the beginning of the present century. 
The first was a native of Scotland, the other two of 
Ireland. They were in the military service of Great 
Britain, from which they deserted at the time of their 
coming here. They were stationed near the river St. 
Croix, and either by swimming or in a boat, came along- 
side a vessel belonging here, the master of which was 
Captain Ephraim Marshall, who landed them here, where 
they remained — two of them — and married : Mr, Chatto 



174 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

a Miss Staples ; and they were the parents of Mr. Joshua 
S. Chatto, who has resided here and is well known. Mr. 
Ready married Lydia, the daughter of Mr. Chase Pressey. 
They were the parents of Messrs. Thomas and Jeremiah 
Ready ; the former of whom resided here until a few 
years ago ; the latter went to Boston when a young man. 
Mr. Finney married the daughter of Mr. Moses Staples, 
of Swan's Island. They were the parents of the late Mr. 
Moses S. Finney, who came here as early as 1838, from 
that place, and remained till his death, a few years prior to 
i860. Mr. Finney, or, as he was generally called. Jack 
Finney, was a man of small stature, and very excitable. 
If he deemed himself insulted, was ever ready for a com- 
bat, however great the disadvantages to himself might 
seem. 

George G. Choate came, not far from the beginning 
of the present century, from some place in the county of 
Essex, in the State of Massachusetts. By trade he was 
a house-carpenter. He first married a Miss Johnson, a 
daughter of the last wife of Mr. Ezra Howard, and by 
her had three daughters, one of whom was the wife of 
Mr. Samuel Hall, of this place, but who, many years ago, 
removed to Long Island in the town of Bluehill. An- 
other was the wife of Mr. Thomas Haskell, son of Deacon 
Joshua Haskell, a master ship-carpenter, who lived here 
until a few years ago, and then removed to Boston, where 
he died not long after his removal. He had been married 
before, and had a family of eight children. His first wife 
was a daughter of Courtney Babbidge. The remaining 
daughter of Mr. Choate by his first marriage was Miss 
Mary Choate, who now resides in Boston. The second 
wife of Mr. Choate was Miss Betsey, daughter of Mr. 
Thomas Small, Sr. They had two sons. One was the 



TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 75 

late Mr. Thomas S. Choate who resided here, and died 
several years ago. The other was Mr. John Choate, who, 
when quite a young man, left this place and went to New 
Orleans, and before the Rebellion commanded a steamer 
on the Mississippi River. Of the daughters we know 
nothing, as they did not remain here. Mr. Choate for- 
merly resided in a house near the Town House, which, 
after his removal from here, was purchased by Jonathan 
E. W'ebb, Esq., and removed to the Northwest Harbor. 
It is now the property of Captain John W. Green. Not 
far from 1830 Mr. Choate removed to Bluehill, where he 
resided till his death, which took place not far from i860. 
He was a great wit, and many of his expressions are well 
remembered both in this place and in Bluehill. 

We have given quite an extended sketch and notices of 
the settlers and early inhabitants, among whom were 
many who were not descendants of the early settlers, 
but who came here and were prominent in their 
day in that part of the town known as Great Deer 
Island, and wc will now notice those persons who were 
the early settlers of Little Deer Island. As has been 
stated, the authority of Messrs. Joseph and George 
Tyler to allot lands to settlers did not extend to Little 
Deer Island, but was confined to Great Deer and Sheep 
Islands, or, as the latter is known, Jordan's Island. 
Whether those persons who were there as settlers prior to 
1784 were entitled to their lots of land, or not, we do not 
know ; but as the same rule was observed in Township 
Number Three, which embraced the present towns of 
Penobscot, Castine, and a large part of Brooksville, as was 
on Great Deer Island, we may judge that it was estab- 
lished by resolve of the General Court of Massachusetts 



176 ^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

in Other towns in this vicinity. The proprietors of that 
island were residents of Massachusetts. Hon. Thomas 
L. Winthrop, once lieutenant-governor of the State, was 
one of the principal proprietors, if not the only one, 
from whom the titles of occupants were derived. It was 
surveyed in 1802 by James Peters, of Bluehill, a brother 
of John Peters, Jr., by whom the second survey of Great 
Deer Island was made, in 179S. At the time of the 
survey most of the land was occupied. 

Eliakim Eaton, the oldest son of William Eaton, set- 
tled on the lot upon the southeast end of the island. 
His settlement embraced what is known as Stave Island, 
now occupied by his grandson, Mr. Benjamin H. Eaton. 
His wife was Miss Mary Bunker. She was a daughter of 
a man of that name who, as has been stated, lived to the 
extraordinary age of one hundred and ten years : but such 
a statement must be received with a great deal of caution, 
as there is generally a disposition in such cases to exag- 
gerate. If the statement be correct, there has been but 
one case in this part of the State of such extraordinary 
longevity : that of Mr. Laughlan McDonald, who died in 
Belfast, in 1821, said to be of the same age, but it was 
generally believed from the statements made by him of 
persons seen by him, who had been dead more than one 
hundred years. The children of their marriage who 
remained here were : the late Mr. Solomon Eaton, who 
died about the year i860, at an advanced age. Another 
was Mr. Isaac Eaton, who marrried a daughter of Mr. 
Peter Hardy, Sr. He died when a young man. His 
widow became the wife of Captain Jonathan Haskell, who 
died in 1873. Another son is the present Mr. Peter H. 
Eaton, who is about ninety years of age. Of the daugh- 
ters, one was the wife of Mr. Ezekiel Alexander, whom 



TOIVX or DEEK ISLE, MA EVE. I'JJ 

\vc ha\e before noticed. A son of hers, before her mar- 
riage with him, who went by the name of Kzekiel A. 
Clark, was found .dead under very suspicious circum- 
stances in Boston, in 1849. -^^ he was known to 
have had several hundred dollars in money, none of 
which was found upon his person, it was presumed that he 
had been robbed and murdered. Another daughter was 
the wife of Mr. Jeremiah Eaton. She was the mother of 
the present Mr. Alfred Eaton. After the death of her 
husband, who was drowned in 1834, she became the wife 
of Mr. John Gray, in Brooksville. Another daughter was 
known as Phebe Eaton. She was the mother of the late 
Captain Rufus Benson, who removed to Camden, and was 
the master of a barque belonging to that place, which was 
seized by the Spanish authorities about the year 1850, 
about which considerable w^as said at the time, it being 
the subject of correspondence between the government of 
this country and that of Spain at the time that Hon. 
Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. Captain Benson 
was brought up by Mr. Amos Thurston, of this town, who, 
when Rufus was a little child, was in his boat fishing near 
Isle au Haut, and being near a ledge, heard a child 
crying upon it. He landed there and found him, and he 
remained in his family till he was twenty-one years of age. 
After that he removed to Camden and became an active 
master-mariner. He is now dead. His mother, late in 
life, became the wife of Mr. Christopher Gray, of Brooks- 
ville, the man who lived to be one hundred and three 
years of age, but we believe she had been married before. 
Another daughter manied in Ilarpswcll, Maine. Nothing 
is known about her. Mr. Eaton died not far from the 
year 1800. His widow married Mr. Charles Stewart, who 
was well known in Sedgwick and Brooksville. She died 



178 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

between the years 1840 and 1845, at the age of one hun- 
dred years, as was supposed. The real estate of Mr. 
Eaton afterward was purchased, with the exception of the 
widow's dower, by the late Mr. Abijah Haskell, who 
resided upon it till his death, in 1872. 

Solomon Eaton, son of the subject of the preceding 
notice, lived and died on the island on which he was 
born not long after the year 1770. His first wife was a 
daughter of Mr. Benjamin Howard, of what is now 
Brooksville, and their sons were : the present Messrs. 
Benjamin H. and Mark Eaton ; the late Solomon Eaton, 
Jr., of this town, who died in 1849; ^'^d Mr. John Eaton, 
of Sedgwick, now dead. The only daughter who remained 
here was the wife of Mr. Peter H. Haskell, who is now 
dead. The second wife of Mr. Eaton was the daughter of 
Mr. Daniel Billings, who was some twenty-five years 
younger than himself, and they had three sons : one was 
Mr. Isaac B. Eaton, of Isle au Haut ; Mr. Amos Eaton ; 
Hardy Eaton. They all are dead. After the death 
of his second wife, he married a sister of his first wife, 
Mrs. Martha Tibbetts, of Brooksville, and they both died 
near each other, not far from the year i860. The settle- 
ment of Mr. Eaton was upon the southwest side of the 
island, and his place afterward became the property of the 
late Silas L. Hardy, Esq. 

Jephtha Benson was the first settler upon the land 
adjoining that of Mr. Eliakim Eaton on the northwest. 
He came here not far from the year 1800, from one of the 
towns in the vicinity of Paris, in the county of Oxford, in 
this State, and his descendants still reside there. He was 
a Revolutionary soldier, and was born about the year 1757. 
He resided several years upon the land he settled, 
and then removed to Marshall's Island, lying west of 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. lyg 

Swan's Island. He married a ]\Irs. Ross, who was a 
daughter of Mr. Thomas Kench, who many years ago 
lived near Buck's Harbor, in Brooksville. !Mr. Kench was 
also a Revolutionary soldier, and was one of those who 
accompanied Benedict Arnold up the Kennebec River and 
across the wilderness to Quebec in 1775, and was engaged 
in the attempt to capture that city under General Mont- 
gomery. It is said that he was one of the few who 
reached the top of the wall, but was obliged to jump down 
to save his life. By his wife Mr. Benson had a family, but 
none of them ever resided here, but were on Swan's 
Island a few years ago. He was dispossessed of Mar- 
shall's Island, in 1835, by Rufus B. Allyn, of Belfast, and 
afterward removed to Brooksville, where he died, at the 
age of ninety-eight years. His land on Little Deer 
Island afterward became the property of the late Silas L. 
Hardy, Esq., by whom it was occupied till his death, in 
1859. It is now the property of his sons. 

Jonathan Hardy, before noticed, was the occupant of 
the lot of land lying northwest of that of Mr. Benson, and 
he occupied it till his death. Some years before that time 
he sold a part of it to his son, Mr. Jonathan Hardy, Jr., 
who removed to Winterport, and it was by him sold to 
Mr. James E. Parker, who is now the occupant. The 
remainder of the lot is the property of the sons of Silas 
L. Hardy. His second wife, a Miss Susan Jones, of Cas- 
tine, after his death became the wife of Mr. Timothy 
Saunders. She had one daughter after her marriage with 
Mr. Hardy, who became the wife of Mr. John Hardy, and 
she died in the year 1854, on the voyage with her husband 
to Washington Territory. Her husband remained there 
some time, and afterward returned, sometimes residing 
here and sometimes in other places. 



l8o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Isaac Gray settled the lot of land northwest of that 
of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, Jr., but not till some years after 
1800, on which he resided several years. His wife was 
the oldest daughter of Mr. Joseph Harris, and they were 
the parents of the late Mr. Joseph H. Gray and Messrs. 
Silas H. and Oliver B. Gray. One daughter became the 
second wife of Mr. George C. Closson, and the other, that 
of the late Captain Timothy Parker, of Winterport. Mr. 
Gray removed there several years ago and died in that 
place. His wife returned and died here in 1876, at the 
age of eighty-seven years. The real estate of Mr. Gray 
is now the property of his heirs, and is unoccuiaied. 

Joseph Harris was a native of the British Provinces, 
and came here very early. His wife was a daughter of 
Mr. James Gray, who lived near Walker's Pond, in Brooks- 
ville. She was a sister to Mr. Christopher Gray, men- 
tioned before, and to Mr. Josiah Gray, who has been 
noticed. We do not know the exact date of his coming, 
but as his oldest daughter was born in 1789, if he 
lived there at that time, he was one of the early settlers. 
His lot was that adjoining the one taken up by Mr. Isaac 
Gray on the northwest. They had one son, the present 
Mr, Henry Harris. The daughters were the wives of Mr, 
Isaac Gray ; Mr. John Weed ; Mr. Samuel Pittee, who came 
here from North Yarmouth, Maine ; Mr. John Hutchin- 
son, who died here not many years ago ; the youngest was 
first the wife of Mr. Samuel Hutchinson, and afterward 
that of Mr. Ebenezer Spinney, who came here in 1837 
from the town of Elliott, Maine. Mrs. Spinney is the 
only one of the daughters remaining, and is now at the 
age of eighty years. Mr. Harris died in 1 841, at the age 
of eighty-six years ; his wife died in 1854, at the age of 
eighty-nine years. He was well known in former years. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. l8l 

Daniel Billixgs was the settler upon the lot of land 
lying northwest of that of Mr. Harris. He was a brother 
of Mr. Timothy Billings, and was born in this town not 
far from the year 1768. His wife was Miss Carter, a 
sister of Rev. Edward Carter, a Baptist elder, who many 
years ago preached on Cape Rozier, in Brooksville, near 
what was known as Bakman's Mills. A sister of the 
family was the wife of Mr. Thomas Wasson, a well-known 
citizen in Brooksville for many years, who died more than 
forty years ago. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and 
grandfather to Thaddeus Shepardson, Esq., of that town. 
Mr. Billings and wife had three sons who arrived to man- 
hood and one who died young. They were Daniel Bill- 
ings, Esq., who many years lived in Monroe, Waldo 
County, and practised law. A few years ago he came 
here and purchased what is known as the " Swain Place." 
He was afterward appointed a trial justice, for which 
position he was well qualified. He died not many years 
since after a short sickness. Another son was the late 
Mr. Peter H. Billings, who also resided in Monroe. He 
was by trade a millwright, and was a very skilful and 
ingenious mechanic. He died not far from the year 1850, 
not quite forty years of age. The other is the present 
Mr. Edward C. Billings, who occupies and owns the home- 
stead of his father. The daughters were the wives of 
the late Mr. Peter Hardy, Jr., who died in 1859; ^Ir. 
Samuel Howard, of Brooksville ; Mr. Solomon Eaton, who 
has been noticed ; Mr. Peter H. Eaton ; Mr. Samuel 
Gray, of Sedgwick ; and Mr. George Swain. The first 
four are now dead. Mr. Billings died at an advanced age 
several years ago, his wife dying before him. He left a 
good reputation. Mr. Samuel Howard, one of the family 
in Brooksville of that name, settled upon the land adjoin- 



1 82 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

ing the lot of Mr. Billings upon the northwest. His wife 
was a sister of Mr. Billings. He lived for several years 
upon it, and afterward removed to the town of Montville. 
His farm was purchased by Otis Little, Esq., of Castine, 
who acquired land adjoining it, and had in all about four 
hundred acres, which, a little before 1830, he sold to 
Captain John Gray, of Sedgwick, who lived upon it about 
thirty-five years, and then removed to the town of Brooks- 
ville, where he died. He had previously sold a part of 
his land to Mr. Shadrach Black, who occupied it till his 
death, not long after 1870. He went there in 1836. His 
wife was a daughter of Mrs. Gray by a former husband. 
Another portion of his land he sold to his son, the present 
Mr. Jonathan D. Gray, who, a few years ago, sold it to 
Mr. John Douglass, who now occupies it. At the time of 
the removal of Captain Gray he sold the remainder of his 
land to his son Jonathan, who occupies it at present. 
Mr. Black's land is now occupied by his son. 

Timothy Billings, who, as we have stated, was the first 
child of white parents born in the town, settled the farm 
on the northwestern end of the island. His wife was a 
Miss Wells, a relative doubtless of those of that name 
who lived in what is now the town of Brooklin. She died 
many years before him, leaving a family of three sons, of 
whom we have had knowledge, and two daughters. The 
sons were Captain John Billings and Amaziah Billings, 
who lived in Sedgwick. Of the daughters, one was the 
wife of Mr. James Gray, of Brooksville, and the other 
that of Captain Robinson Crockett, Jr., a son of the man 
of that name, who lived at one time on Stinson's Neck. 
The remaining son, Mr. Jeremiah Billings, occupied the 
farm of his father. He died very suddenly, in 1840. 
After his death his widow married Mr. John L. Lawry, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 183 

who came here in 1841 from some town in the county of 
Waldo, in whose family Mr. Billings, the subject of this 
notice, resided till his death, after which the farm w. s 
sold, and the family removed to Winterport, where Mr. 
Lawry died. It is now the property of Mr. Michael D. 
Snowman, who removed there from Brooksville ; and of 
Mr. Billings the same might be said as was said of his 
brother. 

William Swain was the first settler upon the lot of 
land adjoining that of Captain Gray on the southeast, on 
the southwest side of the island. He was a native of 
Scotland, and came with the British army to Bagaduce in 
1779. He was a master-mariner, and in former years a 
man of enterprise. He was at one time worth considera- 
ble property. His wife was a daughter of Mr. Samuel 
Matthews, of what is now Castine, whose farm, a valuable 
one, was afterward owned by Mr. Jonathan Hatch, and 
occupied by him at the time of his death. The exact time 
of his coming here is not known, and a cove, on the 
shores of which his place lies, is known as Swain's Cove. 
He did not pay for his property, but the proprietors never 
molested him. After his death his son, Mr. George Swain, 
made a contract to purchase it, but failed to pay for it and 
did not acquire a title. After the removal of Mr. George 
Swain, ]\Ir. Horatio N. Haskell contracted with the owners 
for its purchase, but he also failed to meet his payments. 
Afterward it was purchased by Daniel Billings, Esq., who 
resided upon it till his death, a few years ago. It is now 
owned and occupied by his widow. The time of the death 
of the wife of Mr. Swain is not known ; he died not 
far from 1835. In the family there were, to our knowl- 
edge, four sons, namely, William, Samuel, Walter, and 
George Swain. All are now dead. Mr. George Swain 



184 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

removed to Winterport, where his widow and descendants 
resided till the last of our knowledge of them. 

Noah Blaster was the first settler upon the land 
adjoining that of Mr. Swain upon the southeast. Of him 
but very little is known either of the place he came from 
or the time of his death. He left one son and one daugh- 
ter, but of the latter we know nothing. His son was the 
late Mr. Samuel Blaster, who died in i860, at the age of 
eighty-three, having been born in 1777. His wife was the 
daughter of Mr. Christopher Gray, of Brooksville, and at 
the time of her marriage with him she was the widow of 
Mr. James Hendrick, by whom she had two sons, Christo- 
pher, now dead, and the present Mr. Stillman Hendrick, 
who resides on Little Deer Island. The daughter was the 
wife of Mr. Solomon Eaton, Jr., who died in 1849, ^'^^ she 
is now dead. She was the mother of Mr. Isaiah V. Eaton, 
who died a soldier in the Union army during the war for 
the suppression of the Rebellion. By his wife Mr. Blaster 
had one son, the present I\Ir. William Blaster, and several 
daughters. Mrs. Blaster died several years before her 
husband. 

Richard Banks settled upon the lot of land lying- 
southeast of that of Mr. Blaster. He came here from the 
town of Hartford, in Oxford County. He brought a part 
of his family and, we believe, married the daughter of Mr. 
Blaster after he came here. One of his sons whom he 
left behind was the late well-known Silas Banks, who fell 
into distress in that town, and, after his father gained a 
settlement here, this town was hoklen for his support, and 
was obliged to provide for and remove him. He was a 
pauper till his death in 1872, or not far from that year. 
He was a very witty non compos person, and in some 
things possessed a good deal of shrewdness. None of the 



rOlV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 185 

Other chiltlrcn of Mr. lianks resided here, and in 1835 he 
removed to the town of Mount Desert, where he died. 

The lot on the southern end of the island is the one 
which was occupied by Mr. Benjamin Weed, whom, with 
his family, we have noticed. After his exchange with 
Captain Peter Hardy, Captain Hardy moved upon the lot, 
and resided there several years. It was a valuable farm. 
When he moved from it, it was occupied by his son, who 
was known as Peter Hardy, 3d, and after the death of his 
grandfather, in 1 831, as Peter Hardy, Jr. He remained 
there till his death, in 1859, ^^ the age of sixty-one years. 
His wife was Miss Joan Billings, the eldest daughter of 
Mr. Daniel Billings ; she died in 1876, at the age of eighty- 
two years. Before his death Mr. Hardy bequeathed his 
farm to his son, Mr. George W. Hardy. His mother 
resided with him till his death, after which she removed 
to Babbidge's Neck and resided with her daughter, — now 
the wife of Mr. Hiram Gross, — where she remained till 
her death. After the death of Mr. George W. Hardy his 
widow and children occupied the farm a few years. She 
then married and moved away. It is now the property 
of Mr. William Blaster. 

AnijAii Haskell has been named as the person who 
occupied the property of Mr. Eliakim Eaton after his 
death. He was a resident of the island over sixty years. 
He was a son of Mr. Abijah Haskell, who was a son of 
Deacon Francis Haskell. They both have been noticed. 
He was born in 1781. His wife was Miss Susannah Hardy, 
a daughter of Mr. Peter Hardy, Sr. By their marriage 
they had one son and three daughters. The son is Mr. 
Abijah W. Haskell, who now resides in the town of 
Sedgwick. The daughters were the wives of three 
brothers of the family of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, — Silas L., 



1 86 ^^" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

who died in 1849 on the island ; she is now dead. Another 
was Mr. Jonathan Hardy, Jr., who removed to Winterport, 
where he died a few years ago. The other is Mr. Peter 
Hardy, who now resides in that place. Mr. Haskell died 
in 1872, at the age of ninety-one years, and his wife in 
1874, at the age of eighty-five. They lived together in 
wedlock about sixty-five years. 

We have noticed the settlers on Little Deer Island, and 
will now take up a sketch of the settlements in that part 
of the town which was set off and incorporated as the 
town of Isle au Haut, in 1874. The first was made in 
1772 on what is known as Merchant's Island. We will 
state first what is known about the titles of the lands in 
that town, and the islands lying south of Great Deer 
Island, now included within the limits of this town. But 
few of the settlers on the islands acquired titles to the 
land occupied by them until after the separation of the 
State of Maine, when both States had a joint ownership 
in the public lands in this State, and not long after sales of 
the most of them were made at a very reasonable rate. 
Thurlow's Island was purchased before the separation by 
Joseph Colby, Jr. and David Thurlow, and we think that 
Merchant's Island was bought by the occupant, or his son, 
Anthony Merchant, Jr. Kimball's Island was purchased 
not long after the death of Mr. Seth Webb, in 1785, by 
Mr. Solomon Kimball. We think that many of the settlers 
on Isle au Haut had also acquired titles. In 1802 a survey 
was made of the island by Mr. Lathrop Lewis, and it was 
most of it divided into lots ; but a large one of over thirteen 
hundred acres lying west of the pond on the island was left 
in one body, which was sold after the separation to the late 
George Kimball, Esq. Another of three hundred and 



TOJVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 187 

thirty-nine acres, lying near the southwestern point of the 
island, was purchased by David Thurlow and parties in 
Castine. We have understood that, before the separation, 
the late Peletiah Barter was appointed as an agent by 
the residents who had taken up lots, to go to Boston and 
take measures for the acquirement of titles, and from the 
fact that the j^ersons who were in possession of lots at the 
time of the sales made by the land agents of both States 
were not disturbed, we judge that they had acquired titles 
to their lands. Some of the occupants of islands between 
Great Deer Island and Isle au Ilaut neglected to purchase, 
and others bought them, and after the larger part of them 
were sold, there remained a number of smaller ones which 
were sold to the late Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., as also was 
the island known as Hard Head near Eagle Island. He 
at one time owned quite an amount of that kind of prop- 
erty, and many of the present owners derived their titles 
from him or his grantees. 

Among others we would name what is now known as 
Fog Island, which was formerly known as Cutter's Island, 
lying east of the northern part of Isle au I laut, which was 
occupied by a man named Cutter, who was drowned in 
attempting to land some cattle from a gondola some eighty 
years ago or more. With him were a Mr. Sheldon with 
his wife, two sons, a daughter, and a colored man named 
Hall — none of whom escaped. Mr. Sheldon left one 
daughter who became the wife of Mr. John Pressey, 3d, 
the son of Mr. John Pressey, Jr., who has been noticed. 
Her name was Mary, and by his marriage he had one son 
and one daughter of whom we have had knowledge. The 
son was Mr. Henry Pressey, who was, in the winter of 
1849 '^"f^ i^^SO, lost with Captain John G. Green in the 
schooner Tamerlane, bound to this place from Boston. 



1 88 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

The daughter was the wife of the late Mr. Samuel Howard. 
After the death of Mr. Pressey, she married Mr. Nathaniel 
Merchant, who then lived on Camp Island, on the southern 
side of Deer Island thoroughfare, upon which he died a 
few years prior to 1830. After that she became the third 
wife of Mr. Thomas Colby, who died in 1837, and after 
his death she married Mr. Thomas Cooper, of North 
Haven. After that she remained here supported by that 
town till her death, which was about the year 1859, ^^ ^^e 
age of eighty-nine years. The island then called Fog 
Island, by which name it at present is known, was, prior to 
1830, occupied by Mr. John Crockett, not a relative of the 
families of that name here, but a half-brother to the 
first wife of Mr. John Closson, Not far from the year 
mentioned he was drowned between that island and Isle 
au Haut in the sight of his family. His widow afterward 
became the wife of Mr. John Gross. 

A number of those islands were inhabited. The one 
known as Saddle Back over sixty years ago was occupied 
by Mr. Edward Howard, whom we have mentioned as a 
son-in-law of Mr. Theophilus Eaton. Not far from 1820, 
when he became a very old man, he removed to Brooks- 
ville, where he had children, who took care of him, and he 
died there. Worthy's Island was occupied for some time 
by Mr. Charles Gross, who failed to pay for it to the 
owner, H. Rowell, Esq., and in 1839 ^e removed from it, 
and it was purchased by Sullivan Green, Esq. Russ 
Island was the residence of Mr. George Harvey, a soldier 
of the War of 1812, for many years. He died there, and 
the island is now the property of Captain Stephen B. 
Morey. Mr. John Coombs occupied what is known as 
Devil Island, and in 1836 he sold it to Mr. Avery Fifield 
and moved to the town of Islesborough. Mr. John Har- 



TOJF.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 189 

vey, a soldier in the war of the Revolution, occupied Bear 
Island for some time, and it was afterward the property of 
Captain David Thurlow, who also owned several other 
islands by purchase from the land agents, and Camp 
Island, which was sold him by Robert Merchant. On the 
one known as Round Island Mr. Hezekiah Robbins 
resided for several years. Afterward he removed to a 
small island at the head of Webb's Cove connected with 
Deer Island by a bar. It is near the property of Mr. Jack 
Stinson, upon which he died. Wreck Island was many 
years ago occupied by Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr. for some 
time, and for the last thirty years or more it has been 
occupied by Mr. Robert Barter and by his family since his 
decease. The island known as Burnt Island, near Isle au 
Haut, was for several years occupied by Mr. Henry Barter, 
and York's Island was occupied by Mr. Robert Knowlton, 
who in 1842 removed to Deer Island and purchased the 
Sylvester farm near Webb's Cove. The two latter islands 
are within the territorial limits of the town of Isle au 
Haut, and the former ones mentioned are within those of 
Deer Isle. 

Although there were many disadvantages in a residence 
upon those islands, still there were advantages which were 
of value to the occupants, whose chief business was fish- 
ing, digging clam-bait, and in later years the taking of 
lobsters — the last of which has been a lucrative employ- 
ment to those engaged in it. For those pursuits they 
were very convenient, but social and educational advan- 
tages must of course be limited. The male inhabitants 
were skilful in the management of small boats, and they 
felt as safe in one as others do in carriages upon the main- 
land, and it is surprising to one who has not that skill how 
safely a boat can be managed by a person who has experi- 



190 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

ence in the matter. Those islands were valuable for 
keeping sheep, and with but little expense they can be 
kept the year round, if one is present to take care of them. 
The occupants, when but one is upon an island, have no 
expense of maintaining line fences, which is a serious 
matter of expense to such as have to incur it, and such 
stock can with great profit be kept upon them. Upon 
Kimball's Island the late George Kimball, Esq. at one time 
kept about four hundred, and upon Isle au Haut the late 
Mr. Asa Turner kept about as many. In both cases the 
expense of wintering was very small, which made it a very 
profitable business. The only drawback was the danger 
from thieves, who could go to one of the small islands 
where sheep were kept, and upon which no person resided, 
and obtain both wool and mutton without paying for them. 
I recollect hearing of an instance where a small vessel from 
some place up the bay or river, anchoring in a small 
harbor on the southwestern end of Kimball's Island, which 
lay at some distance from the house, and undiscovered by 
any one else, drove up, butchered, and carried off several. 
Upon the islands lying between Deer Isle and Isle au 
Haut oftentimes such depredations are committed upon 
those having no inhabitants, by a worthless class who 
have opportunities for plunder, and were it not for that, 
those islands would be of more value than they now are. 

SETTLERS. 

Anthony Merchant, who came from the town of 
York, Maine, was the first person who settled within the 
limits of the present town of Isle au Haut, and, as has 
been understood, he came the same year that his father-in- 
law did to Deer Island. It must have been in 1772, and 
the island he settled upon has been ever since known as 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I9I 

Merchant's Island. His wife was Miss Abigail Raynes, 
and was a daughter of Mr. John Raynes, Sr., the father 
of Messrs. John, Johnson, and William Raynes. Mr. 
Merchant was a master-mariner and made voyages to the 
West Indies. They had three sons and five daughters. 
The sons were : Nathaniel, who, as has been stated, resided 
upon Camp Island ; John, who removed to Vinal Haven ; 
and Anthony Merchant, Jr., who lived and died upon the 
island settled by his father. Of the daughters one, Abi- 
gail, was the wife of Mr. Joseph Arey, of Vinal Haven. 
Another, Eleanor, was the wife of Mr. John Smith, of that 
town, who lived near what is known as Smith's Harbor, on 
the eastern side of the island, and both her husband and 
herself lived to a good old age. Another, Miriam, was the 
wife of Mr. Henry Barter, who will be noticed. Another, 
Martha, was the first wife of Captain Tristram Haskell, of 
this town, who has been noticed. One, Susan, died 
unmarried. Mrs. Haskell died not far from the year 1803, 
but the others, with the exception of Susan, lived to be 
very old. Mr. Merchant was a very quiet man and a good 
citizen. The year of his death is not known to us. His 
wife died not far from 1833, and was at the time consider- 
ably over eighty years of age. 

Nathaniel Merchant was the eldest son of the 
family. He married in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and 
had two sons and two or more daughters. The sons were 
the late Mr. Nathaniel Merchant, who died, we believe, in 
1879, on Isle au Haut, and Mr. Robert Merchant, who 
resided after the death of his father on Camp Island, 
which was for many years the residence of his father. In 
1845 he sold it to the late Captain David Thurlow, and 
since that time he hns been here only a part of the time, 
as his wife abandoned him. His present place of resi- 



192 ^JV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

dence we do not know. One of the daughters of the 
family was the wife of Mr. John Gott, Jr., who formerly- 
resided on Swan's Island. About the rest of the family 
we have no knowledge. Mr. Merchant, the subject of this 
notice, for his second wife, married the widow of Mr. John 
Pressey, Jr., the daughter of the Mr. Sheldon before 
referred to, who was drowned near Fog Island. For many 
years they resided on Camp Island, where he died not far 
from the year 1830, as before stated. His widow has 
been noticed. 

Anthony Merchant, Jr. was the youngest son of the 
family and was born in the year 1790, or about that time. 
His wife was Miss Eunice Smith, a daughter of Mr. David 
Smith, of Swan's Island, who was well known here many 
years ago. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
By his first marriage Mr. Merchant had one son, the late 
Mr. David S. Merchant, and one daughter, who became 
the wife of Mr. Willard Matthews, who at that time 
resided upon Merchant's Island. After his marriage he 
soon removed to Belfast, out of which place he sailed as a 
master-mariner. He is now dead. After the death of his 
wife Mr. Merchant married Mrs. Maria Gross, by whom he 
had a family, of which there now remain two sons. One 
of the sons, Mr. John Merchant, was drowned a few years 
since, having been knocked overboard from a small vessel 
while sailing down the bay. The remaining sons have 
removed from the town. One of the daughters is the wife 
of Mr. James Childs, who has ever since his marriage 
lived on the island. The other, the wife of Mr. John 
Cross, is now dead. Mr. Merchant was for many years a 
collector of taxes in what was then known as the Isle au 
Haut collection district, and was a faithful and efificient 
officer. He died not far from the year 1865. His widow 
married a Mr. Clark, of the town of Brewer, Maine. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 193 

Jacob Gross was also a resident of Merchant's Island, 
and lived upon the western end of it. He was a brother 
of the Mr. George Gross before noticed, but from what 
place he came here or what year he removed here is not to 
us known, nor do we know the year of his death. He left 
a widow, four sons, and one daughter. The sons were 
Messrs. David, Swansey, John, and James Gross. Mr. 
David Gross died in 1853, and his wife was Miss Parizanda 
Merithew, and she died in 1880. They were the parents 
of the i^resent Messrs. David and William Gross. Mr. 
Swansey Gross married a daughter of Mr. Thomas Buck- 
minster, and they are both dead. They were the parents 
of Messrs. William B., Hiram, and Thomas B. Gross. 
The latter resides upon the homestead of his father. Mr. 
John Gross was the third son of the family, and his wife 
was a daughter of Mr. James Robertson, who abandoned 
him. He afterward married the widow of the Mr. John 
Crockett whom we have mentioned as residing- on Yoz 
Island and being drowned near there. By that marriage 
he had two sons. One was Jacob Gross, who was one of 
the crew of the schooner SaraJi which was lost in 1851 
in the great gale in Chaleur Bay with all on board. 
The other son is the present Mr. Edwin Gross. The 
other son, Mr. James Gross, never married, and for some 
years before his death was totally blind. The daughter, 
Mary Gross, was the wife of Mr. William Matthews, 
who removed to Merchant's Island from the town of 
Boothbay, Maine. He died in the family of his son Mr. 
Stinson Matthews in this town, his widow surviving him a 
few years. 

The next settlement made in the present town of Isle 
au Haut was, as has been stated, by Mr. Scth Webb, 
whom we have noticed ; but the exact date is not to us 



194 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



known. It has been said that during the very severe 
winter of 1780 he went to the top of the mountain on Isle 
au Haut, and from that eminence could see no water for 
ice out seaward. If that account be correct, it must have 
been the most severe winter ever experienced here since 
the first settlement of the town, as but few winters within 
the past fifty years has the ice made to that degree as to 
be sufficiently strong to pass over from Deer Island to Isle 
au Haut. After the death of Mr. Webb, Mr. Solomon 
Kimball purchased the island now known as Kimball's 
Island, the one settled by Mr. Webb, and resided upon it. 
Afterward it came into the possession of his son, the late 
George Kimball, Esq., who occupied it till his death in 
1839. The wife of the latter was Miss Lucretia Amazene, 
of Newcastle, New Hampshire, and she died not long after 
i860. Mr. Kimball was a man who sustained a good 
reputation, and he was active and enterprising. He 
did considerable business, owning vessels, and was in 
possession of considerable property. Besides the island 
he occupied, he owned over thirteen hundred acres of land 
in one body on Isle au Haut, lying westerly of the pond 
on that island. He was in 1826 representative from this 
town to the Legislature, and was for many years a justice 
of the peace. The sons in the family were George 
Kimball, Jr., Esq., who removed to Winterport, and in 
1850 removed to California, having organized a company 
which built a ship of si.x hundred tons, as we believe, in 
the town of Cutler, Maine. With a number of others 
interested in the ship he emigrated, and at the last 
accounts was living. Another son was Solomon and 
another William Kimball — both of whom, we believe, 
went to California at the same time. The latter is now 
dead. Another son was Mr. Benjamin A. Kimball, who 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 195 

died in 1842, or about that time, at home. The daughters 
of the family were the wives of Mr. Isaiah Barbour, who 
removed to Camden ; of Mr. Willard Clark, a school- 
teacher ; of the late Captain Benjamin S. Smith, a son of 
]Mr. Simon Smith, who removed to Winterport and was lost 
at sea. His widow resides at the present time on the 
homestead of her father with her two sons. The other 
dauo^hter of the family now living is the wife of Captain 
Seth Webb, of this town. Two of the daughters died 
unmarried. 

Peletiah Barter was the person by whom the first 
settlement was made on Great Isle au Haut, and it was in 
1792. He was a native of the town of Boothbay, Maine, 
and resided on what is known as Barter's Island in that 
town. He was born in the year 1772. His wife was Miss 
Mary Trundy, the eldest daughter of Mr. Samuel Trundy, 
of this town, and they were the parents of ten children. 
Two of the sons grew to manhood : the late Mr. Peletiah 
Barter, Jr. and the present Mr. John Barter, who now 
resides there. His wife was a daughter of Mr. James 
Duncan, who has been noticed. One of the daughters 
was the wife of Mr. David Collins. Another was the wife 
of Mr. William Dorr, of Winterport. Another was the 
wife of Mr. John S. Merrill, of the same place. Another 
was that of Mr. Thomas Littlefield, of Winterport, and 
after his death she was the wife of a Mr. Raymond, and 
afterward, of Mr. Bcnajia Merithevv, of Islesborough. 
The other was first the wife of Mr. Paoli Hews, Jr., of 
Belfast; second, of Mr. Ivlijah Toothaker ; and third, 
of the present Mr. Abncr Bray. All of the family, 
with the exception of Mr. John Barter, are now dead. 
The wife of Mr. Barter died many years ago, and he 
never remarried, and died not far from the year 1852. 



196 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

He at one time was in possession of a considerable 
amount of real estate, none of which is now owned by his 
descendants. 

Henry Barter came not long after his brother, the 
subject of the last notice, and settled upon the lot north- 
east of that occupied by him. His wife was Miss Miriam 
Merchant, a daughter of Mr. Anthony Merchant. They 
had one son, the late Mr. Robert Barter, who for some 
years resided on what is known as Wreck Island. He 
died there not many years ago. One of the daughters 
was the wife of the present Mr. Francis Coombs. Another 
was that of Mr. Peletiah Barter, Jr. One died unmar- 
ried. Mr. Barter and his wife lived together for many 
years, and he had the reputation of being an upright man. 
He removed from the land first occupied by him to what 
is known as Burnt Island, now the property of Mr. James 
Turner, 2d, and both he and his wife died there. After 
the death of his parents Mr. Robert Barter, their son, sold 
it to Mr. Turner and removed to Wreck Island, which was 
included in the purchase made by Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., 
before referred to. 

William Barter, a younger brother of the subjects of 
the two preceding notices, settled upon the southern part 
of the land taken up by Mr. Peletiah Barter. His wife 
was Miss Sarah, the daughter of Mr. Stephen Babbidge, 
of this town. Their sons were : Mr. William Barter, Jr., 
who removed to Vinal Haven and died there ; the late 
Stephen Barter, who resided in Isle au Haut ; Thomas 
Barter, who died many years ago ; and the present Mr. 
Amos Barter. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Joab 
Black, who did not reside there ; the late Captain Jona- 
than Rich ; Daniel L. and Ebenezer D. Carlton ; Davis 
Collins ; and one married in Winterport. At the present 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 19^ 

time no one of the family, except Mr. Amos Barter, 
resides there. Mr. Barter was for many years engaged in 
trade, owned and built vessels, and carried on the fishing 
business and owned considerable property. Both he and 
his wife died many years ago. 

Captain Samuel Turner was the occupant of the 
land lying southerly of that of Mr. Barter. He was the 
son of the wife of Mr. Charles Kempton by a former 
marriage. He perished at sea upon the wreck of a vessel 
of which he was master, which was engaged in the freight- 
ing business, an occupation he followed for many years, in 
the year 1839. Of the crew but one, Mr. James Hender- 
son, survived. He was very well and favorably known in 
this vicinity for many years, and at the time of his death 
was about fifty-five years of age. He left a widow and 
a family. The sons were the present Captain James 
Turner, John K. Turner, and Captain William G. Turner. 
Two of the daughters resided in Searsport, and one was 
the wife of the late Captain Ezra Turner, of Isle au Haut. 

Ebenezer Sawyer was one of the early settlers there. 
He came, we believe, from Boothbay or from that vicinity, 
and was engaged in the fishing business, as were most of 
the settlers there. Both he and his wife died in the win- 
ter of 1839 and 1840, at an advanced age. The land he 
occupied was that adjoining the lot of Captain Turner on 
the south. Their sons were : Mr. Paul Sawyer, who 
removed to what is now the town of North Haven ; 
Nathaniel, a master ship-carpenter, who removed to Isles- 
borough ; and Ebenezer, who not long after the year 1840 
went to the town of Searsport ; and one died a young 
man. One of the daughters was the wife of Captain 
William Yeaton. Another was that of Mr. William Bab- 
bidge. Another was that of Mr. Bickmore, of St. George. 



198 A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

The Other was that of Mr. George Allen, and after his 
death she became the wife of his brother, Mr. Daniel 
Allen, who removed to Levant, Maine. We believe that 
all of the family are now dead. The property occupied 
by Mr. Sawyer is now that of Captain James D. Barter. 

William Yeaton was the occupant of the lot lying 
south of that of Mr. Sawyer, whose daughter he married. 
He came here when young and for some time resided in 
the family of George Kimball, Esq. He came from Ports- 
mouth," New Hampshire, or that vicinity. He and his 
wife were the parents of four sons and eight daughters. 
Of the family but one now resides there, the wife of Mr. 
Spencer Robertson. In 1842, or about that time, Mr. 
Yeaton purchased a farm in Northport, Maine, and 
removed there, where both he and his wife died. He was 
by occupation a fisherman and was very active and suc- 
cessful^in his employment. 

Charles Kempton was an early settler and came from 
what is the present town of Winterport. He there resided 
near what is known as Stubb's Point. The maiden name 
of his wife|was Stinson, of a family of that name in what 
was then'the town of Prospect. At the time of his mar- 
riage she was a Mrs. Turner, and, as we have stated, was 
the mother of Captain Samuel Turner. The family was 
the late Captain John Kempton, who died on Isle au Haut 
a few years since. One daughter was the wife of Mr. 
Ebenezer^Sawyer, Jr. Another was that of Captain The- 
ophilus Eaton, who is now dead, and their widows now 
reside in Searsport. Another died unmarried. The lot 
taken up^^by Mr. Kempton is near what is now known as 
Moore's Harbor, named from a Mr. John Moore, of Cas- 
tine, who was a fisherman and who frequently anchored 
his vessel there during the time of the Revolution and 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 



199 



afterward. Mr. Kempton died not far from the year 1839, 
and his wife survived him a few years. 

Chauncev Holmes, who was in his day well known, 
was for many years a resident of the island near Morse's 
Harbor. From what place he came, or the time of his 
coming, is not known to us. His wife was a Mrs. Crock- 
ett, whose maiden name was Rendell, of a family who 
resided in Prospect. Her first husband was Mr. Isaac 
Crockett, a brother of the Mr. John Crockett mentioned 
before, and they formerly lived in Vinal Haven. She had 
a family by her first marriage, but none by that with Vix. 
Holmes. He was a singular man and had a good share of 
wit. About the year 1843 they, with others on the island, 
became converts to Mormonism and removed to Nauvoo, 
Illinois, and when the Mormons left that place for the Salt 
Lake, Mr. Holmes and his wife and ]\Ir. Robert Douglass, 
who will be noticed, went in the company. He, being 
very old and infirm, perished on the journey from starva- 
tion and fatigue. 

Ebenezer Lelaxo, we have understood, was the per- 
son who made a settlement on the island next after that of 
Mr. Pelctiah Barter. They came from the town of Eden, 
Maine, and settled near Duck Harbor, mentioned in the 
account given of duck-driving. From what I have learned, 
I am inclined to the opinion that it was used for that pur- 
pose by the Indians before the whites settled this part of 
the country, as it was from them that the settlers here 
learned of that method of taking ducks. Mr. Leland, not 
long after the Revolutionary War, lived in what is now the 
town of Brooksville. Whether they came from that 
place, or not, to Isle au Ilaut is not known, but he was 
originally an inhabitant of Eden, of which place his 
father was one of the early settlers. In the war of the 



200 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Revolution he was a lieutenant in the regular army, and 
after his discharge happened to be at Bagaduce while the 
British were there and was arrested as a spy. Had he 
not been able to produce his written discharge, he might 
have suffered death. His wife was a Miss Dyer, of Steu- 
ben, near a place known as Dyer's Bay. Of the family 
we have knowledge of three sons and three daughters. 
The sons were : the late Mr. Ebenezer Leland, Jr., who 
died in this town some twenty-five years ago ; Jesse 
Leland, a iioii compos person ; and one who died when a 
young man. The daughters were Ursula, the wife of a 
Mr. Higgins, of Eden, and mother of Captain Eben L. 
Higgins, of that place ; she was afterward the wife of a 
Mr. Salisbury. Another was Nancy Leland, who was 
never married, and Hannah, first the wife of Mr. John 
Harvey, Jr., a soldier of the War of 1812, and afterward 
that of a Mr. Daniel Getchell. She died, as was supposed, 
in consequence of violence at his hands, not far from 1868. 
Mr. Leland died many years ago ; his wife died about the 
year 1837. 

Abiathar Smith went to Isle au Haut from the town 
of Thomaston, Maine, not far from the year 1800. He 
settled near what is now known as Head Harbor. He 
had three sons and one daughter, of whom we have had 
information. The sons were : Mr. George Smith, who 
will be noticed ; Mr. Simon Smith, whom we have men- 
tioned ; and another, named Abiathar Smith, who removed 
from here, and of whom we have no knowledge. The 
daughter was the wife of Mr. Elisha Holbrook. The 
property of Mr. Smith is now that of Mr. George Smith, 
Jr., who is the present occupant. It is one of the most 
valuable places on the island. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, ^L4LVE. 20I 

Calvin Turner came early with his family, and he 
settled near the northern end of the pond. He formerly 
resided in what is now the town of Orland. It has been 
stated that he built the first saw and grist mills in that 
town, in 1773. The exact time of his coming is not known 
to us. His wife was a Miss Stinson, a sister of the wife 
of Mr. Charles Kempton before noticed. The sons of the 
family were : the late Captain Asa Turner, who lived and 
died on Isle au Haut ; James Turner, who lived in Bucks- 
port ; John Turner, who removed to the town of Brooklin, 
where he died. Another, whose name, we believe, was 
Calvin, was lost at sea, and was at the time master of the 
vessel on wliich he was lost. Of the daughters we 
know nothing, as none of them remained here. Mr. Tur- 
ner died in 1838, at the age of ninety years. The land he 
lived on was afterward occupied by his son, Captain Asa 
Turner, who was a man much respected. His wife was 
?*Iiss Abigail Smith, of Prospect, and they had a family of 
six sons and four daughters. The sons were the present 
John Turner, Esq., Ezra, James, 2d, and Isaiah B. Turner 
— all of whom, except Ezra, are now living on the island. 
One son, Mr. Thomas Turner, was drowned several years 
ago near the mouth of Union River, and one died when 
young. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Jacob 
Wilson, who removed to Massachusetts ; of ]\Ir. Patrick 
Conley; of Mr. John K. Turner; and of Mr. John Doane, 
of the town of Newburg, Maine. Of the daughters but 
one, Mrs. Conley, now remains here. A few years ago 
Captain Turner removed to the western side of the island 
near the thoroughfare, and his property on the eastern 
side of the island is now that of a Mr. Sprowl, formerly of 
Bucksport, who is now the owner of a large tract of land 
on that side of the island, which is used for pasturage. 



202 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

He is also the owner of Fog Island. The house of Mr. 
Turner is now occupied by Mr. Noah Page, formerly of 
Bucksport, who is in the employ of Mr. Sprowl. In 1843 
Mr. Turner represented this town in the Legislature. 

Elisha Holbrook was the occupant of the lot of land 
lying north of that of Captain Turner. He came from 
Cape Cod, not far from 1800, and married a daughter of 
Mr. Abiathar Smith. Their children were : the present 
Mr. Abram Holbrook, who resides here ; one of the name 
of Simon, who went away many years ago ; and another, 
Daniel Holbrook, who removed to Vinal Haven. He was 
killed by falling from a derrick used in hoisting stone, 
up which he had gone for the purpose of fixing a 
tackle or something of the kind. The daughters were the 
wives of Mr. Joseph Morey, and afterward of Mr. Hum- 
phrey Webster ; of Mr. Samuel Black ; of a Mr. Hall, 
from some place near Belfast ; and another, who was 
brought up in the family of Captain Samuel Turner. 
What became of her is not to us known. The wife of Mr. 
Holbrook died nearly sixty years ago, and the family was 
broken up. During the latter part of his life he was a 
public charge. 

Daniel Gilbert, a native of Massachusetts, settled 
upon the lot north of that occupied by Mr. Holbrook, 
which he afterward purchased. His wife was Miss Sarah 
Reed, of Boothbay, by whom he had no children. They 
adopted a child named Francis Merithew, who was 
drowned about the time of the death of Mrs. Gilbert, in 
1839. In 1840 Mr. Gilbert, when fifty-five years of age, 
married a Miss Lois Ellis, who was then sixteen years of 
age, by whom he had a family. About the year 1850 he 
removed to the western side of the island and purchased a 
lot of land which was formerly the property of Mr. Pele- 



rOlFX OF DEER ISLE, MALXE. 203 

tiah Barter, and built a house upon it, residing there till 
his removal to the town of Bristol, Maine, where he died 
in 1876, at the age of ninety-one years. 

George Smith, a son of Mr. Abiathar Smith, settled 
upon the lot north of that of Mr. Gilbert. He was born 
in 1780, and his wife was Miss Judith Knowlton, a daugh- 
ter of Mr. Benjamin Knowlton. Their children were the 
present Mr. George Smith, of Head Harbor, who alone of 
the family now resides here. Another son was Abiathar 
Smith, and the other was Joseph Smith — both of whom 
removed from here many years ago. One daughter was 
the wife of Mr. George Curtis, who went there from the 
town of Surry, and afterward returned, where he lived 
the last we knew of him. Another was the wife of Mr. 
Samuel Coffin, who came here from Kennebec County, 
or the eastern part of Oxford County, returning after 
a few years' residence on the island. Another was the 
wife of ]\Ir. Aaron Merithew, Jr., who went to Vinal 
Haven. Another was the wife of Mr. Benjamin Meri- 
thew, Jr., who removed to Searsport. The youngest was 
the wife of Mr. Isaac B. Eaton, who resided upon the 
homestead of Mr. Smith. He is now dead, his wife dying 
before him. Mr. Smith died not far from the year i860, 
aged over eighty years, and his wife about ten years after. 

Thomas Tyler, a brother of Messrs. Joseph and 
George Tyler, settled upon the lot adjoining that of Mr. 
Smith on the north. He was for many years a school- 
teacher and was known as Master Tyler. After he 
became advanced in years he married Miss Betsey Bagley, 
of Ncwl)uryport. He died not far from the year 1830. 
Afterward his wife returned to Xewburyport, where she 
had relatives. He formerly lived on Merchant's Island. 
A matter of dispute arose between Mr. Merchant and Mr. 



204 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Gross, relating to the ownership of a small island near 
Merchant's Island, and it was referred by them to Master 
Tyler. He divided it into three equal portions, assigning 
that on the eastern end to Mr. Merchant, that on the 
western part to Mr. Gross, reserving the middle part to 
himself, giving as a reason that it was proper that their 
lands there should not join, and if he had the middle part, 
it would keep peace between them. Both parties acqui- 
esced in his decision. The lot he occupied on Isle au 
Haut he had no title to, as he had never purchased it of 
the State. Afterward it was acquired by Mr. Hiram 
Small, who resided upon it until his death a few 
years ago. 

Robert Douglass was the occupant of the lot adjoin- 
ing that of Mr. Tyler upon the north. He was an early 
occupant, but what place he came from, or what time he 
came, we do not know. He was a brother of Captain 
James Douglass, who, fifty years ago, or more, was captain 
of the revenue-boat at Belfast. His sisters were the 
wives of Messrs. Thomas and James Cooper and Benja- 
min Burrage, Esq., of North Haven. By his first wife Mr. 
Douglass had two sons : Alexander, who removed to some 
town in Penobscot County, and Robert, a ship-carpenter, 
who remained on Isle au Haut till about 1850, when he 
became interested in the ship referred to in the notice of 
George Kimball, Jr., Esq., and was in the company of 
emigrants who removed to California. We do not know 
whether he is now living, but probably he is not. If 
living, he is a very old man. The lot and buildings he 
occupied are now the property of Mr. Francis Coombs, 
who resides upon them. One of the daughters of Mr. 
Robert Douglass, the subject of this notice, was the wife 
of Mr. John Rich, and the other was that of Mr. Asa 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 205 

Collins, who was lost in a gale in 1841, in the schooner 
Fo7'est of Gloucester, of which Captain Stephen Rich 
was master. After the death of his wife Mr. Douglass 
married Miss Lydia Lane, a daughter of Mr. Hezekiah 
Lane, and a sister of Mr. Oliver Lane, by whom he 
had one son, Mr. Abner Douglass. His last wife was 
accidentally killed, about the year 1832, by being struck on 
the head with a piece of stone, which her husband was 
blasting. At the time of the Mormon excitement he, with 
Mr. tlolmes and wife, and others from the towns of Vinal 
Haven and North Haven, joined that sect. As has been 
stated, he perished upon the journey to the Great Salt 
Lake. The property owned by Mr. Douglass is now that 
of his grandson, Mr. Stillman Rich, and it is near what is 
known as Douglass's Cove. He was a very decided man, 
and, when his mind was made up, it remained so. A few 
years after the death of his last wife he journeyed to the 
Southern and Western States, and on his return expressed 
the opinion that the people in the Northern States enjoyed 
life more than those of the other sections of the country, 
and notwithstanding the greater fertility and natural 
advantages of the other States, still in New England 
better living was to be found and more of the real com- 
forts of life. 

JoHX Rich occupied the lot of land northerly of that 
of Mr. Douglass, and his wife was the daughter of Mr. 
i3ouglass. She was of a prepossessing appearance. 
The children of the family were : Captain Stephen Rich, 
who removed to Gloucester, Massachusetts, out of which 
place he sailed as master in the fishing business several 
years. He was an active and enterprising man, and, as 
has been stated, was lost with all his crew in the year 1841. 
Another son was Mr. Jonathan Rich, who was an invalid 



206 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

for many years, and died not far from the year 1864. 
Another was Mr. Thomas Rich, who was drowned in 
1839 ; and two remaining sons are Mr. Perez Rich, who 
removed to Islesborough, and the Mr. Stillman Rich 
named before as the occupant of the property of Mr. 
Douglass. There was one daughter in the family, who 
was first the wife of Mr. Josiah Pierce, of Vinal Haven, 
and they became converts to Mormonism and removed to 
Nauvoo, Illinois, and while there she became disgusted 
with it and made her escape. With but little means she 
returned to her friends here and was divorced from her 
husband, and afterward became the wife of Mr. Noah 
Barter. She was the mother of one daughter, and died a 
few years ago. The exact time of Mr. Rich's coming 
here we do not know, but it was before 18 10. He died 
not long before i860, his wife surviving him a few years. 
Benjamin Knowlton was for many years a resident of 
Isle au Haut. He was a relative of those of that name 
in the town of Northport and in the county of Waldo, 
and, we believe, was a native of Massachusetts. When a 
young man he went to Nova Scotia, and there married 
a Miss Smith. He was there a part of the time, at least, 
if not all of the Revolutionary period, and some time 
after his return took up his residence on Isle au Haut. 
His sons were the late Mr. Robert Knowlton, of this 
town, and Mr. Joseph Knowlton, who removed to Isles- 
borough. One daughter was the wife of a Mr. Hamil- 
ton. She was the mother of the present Mr. Solomon 
Hamilton, now nearly ninety years of age. Another was 
the wife of Mr. George Smith, and another was that of 
Mr. Aaron Merithew. We believe there was another. 
Mr. Knowlton died many years ago, but the date is 
unknown to us ; his wife died in 1842, at the age of 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 207 

eighty-nine years. Some years before her death a brother 
in Nova Scotia, by his will, left her the income of $6,000, 
which she received till her death, and after that the prin- 
cipal was divided among her children. She resided in the 
family of her son, Mr. Robert Knowlton, and removed to 
Deer Isle with him a short time before her death. Mr. 
Robert Knowlton died in 1876 ; his wife died a few years 
before him. 

Benjamin Meritiiew settled upon a lot of land on the 
south part of the island, between Duck and Head Harbors. 
His first wife was Miss Frances Atwood, by whom he had 
three sons : Mr. Reuben Merithew, who removed to Isles- 
borough ; Benjamin, who removed to Searsport ; and 
Francis, the adopted son of Mr. Daniel Gilbert, who, as 
has been stated in the notice of him, was drowned. The 
second wife of Mr. Merithew was a Miss Sarah Coombs, 
of Vinal Haven, by whom he had a family. At this time 
one only of the family resides here — the wife of Mr. 
Stinson Matthews. Mr. Merithew was a son of Mr. 
Roger Merithew, who many years ago resided upon, and 
owned, what is now known as Babbidge's Island in the 
town of North Haven. Both he and his wife are now 
dead. 

Aaron Merithew made a settlement near IMoore's 
Harbor, where he resided till his death, in 1844, by drown- 
ing. None of his family remained here, and his property 
was afterward purchased by the late Mr. Eli Eaton. 

Henrv Wilson, Esq. removed to Isle au Haut from 
Gloucester, Massachusetts, not far from the year 1820, 
and was in trade there several years. He was successful 
in his business and accumulated considerable property. 
He built a house and store and wharves, and for several 
years was an inspector of fish, at which business he did 



208 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

considerable. He was one of the selectmen of the town, 
and in 1833 was the representative from this town in the 
Legislature. He was a man of ability and intelligence. 
In 1836 he removed to Ipswich in the State of Massachu- 
setts, with his family, and in a few years removed to 
Gloucester. His real estate was purchased by John Tur- 
ner, Esq., by whom it is at present occupied. 

John Collins was for many years a resident of the 
place, and his wife was a member of the Lanpher family. 
Her father, Stephen Lanpher, was one of the early set- 
tlers of the town of Bucksport, and his widow died in 
1833, at Castine, aged about one hundred years. A 
daughter, a Mrs. Gross, died in Orland some years ago, at 
as great an age. The family of Mr. Collins were : David, 
who died on Isle au Haut, not far from 1863 ; Asa, who 
was lost, as has been stated, in 1841 ; James, who removed 
to Bluehill, and afterward to Castine, where he died ; John, 
who now lives in Castine ; and Otis Collins, who moved to 
Bluehill, with whom his mother resided. Mr. Collins was 
by trade a tailor and was born on the island of Mount 
Desert. During the latter part of the last century and the 
earlier part of the present century he resided in Castine. 
His death was caused by freezing on a very cold day not 
long before the year 1830. He was returning to his home 
from the thoroughfare, and sitting down to rest on the 
way, was overcome by the cold and perished. 

Captain Jacob Carlton, a native of Frankfort, Maine, 
was for a long time a resident. He was a man of energy 
and was engaged in trade, and while there built one 
barque and two large schooners, a gristmill, a large store, 
and a brick house — the only one in the two towns. In 
1838 he was representative to the Legislature. His wife 
was Miss Elizabeth Dow, a daughter of Mr. John Dow, 



TOWX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2O9 

who has been noticed. Their sons were Messrs. Daniel 
L. Carlton, who was in trade for several years and removed 
to Rockland, and Ebenezer D. ; the other was Mr. 
Jacob T. Carlton. There were two daughters, one of 
whom is now the wife of Captain Bestcr Babbidge, 
of Winterport. In 1839 Captain Carlton removed to 
Winterport and purchased a large and valuable farm on 
which he lived till his death. At tiie last accounts his 
widow was living, but none of the family now resides here. 

James Robertson was formerly a resident and went 
there many years ago. He was a native of Scotland and 
was, when a young man, in the British navy, being present 
when the Danish fleet was taken in 1802 by the British 
under Lord Nelson, we believe, who was the commander 
there. He came shortly afterward to this country and 
married a Miss Hopkins, and for some time resided in 
Castine and afterward went to Isle au Haut. By her he 
had one son, the present Mr. Spencer Robertson, and two 
daughters : one the wife of Mr. John Gross, and afterward 
that of Mr. Anthony Merchant ; the other married in 
Massachusetts. For his second wife he married a sister 
of Mr. Hezekiah Robbins, now deceased, and had a family, 
one only of which resides here — the present Mr. James 
Robertson. Not far from the year 1830 Mr. Robertson 
removed from here, and for some time lived in Belfast, 
and in his day was well known. 

John Hakvev resided for some time upon an island 
between Great Deer Isle and Isle au Haut, but whether 
he lived on Isle au Haut, or not, is not known to us. He 
was a Revolutionary soldier, a native of South Carolina, 
and was born in 1750. In the war he was in the Pennsyl- 
vania line under the command of a Colonel Brodhead. 
After the war he came to this State, and for several years 



2 10 ^N HISTOEICAL SKETCH OF THE 

resided in Northport, where he married a Miss Knowlton, 
in 1789, and afterward came here, but returned. In 1836, 
when very old and poor, he was chargeable to this town, 
and was removed here with his wife. He was unable to 
procure a pension for his services, from the difficulty of 
proof, as all who were his comrades were probably dead, 
and he was unable to establish his claim. After his death 
in 1837 an agent succeeded in procuring it for his heirs; 
but, as was charged, he kept it himself. Whether the 
charge were true, or not, we have no knowledge. Mr. Har- 
vey left two sons, who have resided here, and one daugh- 
ter. The sons were the late Mr. George Harvey, who 
lived on Russ Island, and Mr. John Harvey, who lived 
at Duck Harbor, where he - resided many years, but 
removed to the State of New York, and after some time 
returned and died here. They both were soldiers in the 
War of 18 1 2. The daughter was first the wife of Mr. 
Daniel Hamilton ; second, that of Elisha Grant, Esq., and 
third, that of Mr. Nathan W. Sawyer, of this town, and 
died, we believe, in 1879, at the age of seventy years. 

Elisha Grant, Esq. removed to Isle au Haut not long 
after 1840, and resided at Head Harbor not far from thirty 
years. *His death was caused by a cancer. For several 
years he was a deputy sheriff in the county of Penobscot, 
and was a man of intelligence and capacity. He was 
three times married, his last wife being Mrs. Nancy Ham- 
ilton. By his first marriage he had three sons. One was 
Mr. Hiram Grant, of Hampden. Another was the present 
Mr. David Grant, who resides on the premises occupied by 
his father, and the other was Franklin Grant, who died a 
young man several years ago. He died about the year 
1870, and his remains were by his request taken to Hamp- 
den and laid by the side of those of his first wife. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2 I I 

We have now given a sketch of the settlement of the 
towns of Deer Isle and Isle au Haut, and noticed the 
earlier settlers and those of a later date, with such inci- 
dents as we have judged worth the notices that have been 
given them. With the exception of that which has been 
written respecting the discovery, and from the information 
gained from a list of the settlers prior to 1784, found 
among the proprietors' papers which were in the custody 
of the late Solomon Haskell, Esq., which were previously 
in that of his father, Ignatius Haskell, Esq. (accompany- 
ing which list were the dates of their coming here and 
also a copy of a memorial drawn up by a committee of 
the settlers, setting forth the manner in which a grant of 
the lands remaining after the settlers had had their lots 
assigned them, was obtained, as has been previously 
stated), the residue has been written entirely from memory. 
From the circumstances it must be of course imperfect 
in a greater or less degree, yet we hope that what has 
been written may prove of interest and of satisfaction to 
have so much knowledge as has been obtained respecting 
them. I have in my lifetime gathered much information 
with regard to them, the result of which has been previ- 
ously written. It has been to me a matter of fear lest, 
when the task was undertaken, my memory might fail me 
so that I should be able to do but little, but I feel confi- 
dent that the foregoing is, as was stated on the first page, 
in the main correct, and had it not been undertaken by 
me, perhaps it would not have been by any one, and 
of course lost. In my notices of individuals I have 
endeavored to treat the memories of those of whom I 
have written with candor, not intending to withhold any- 
thing to be said in their favor which was justly due, nor to 
ascribe praise undeserved. 



2 12 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

The town, as incorporated in 1789, was of great 
extent, and, of course, inconvenient to the inhabitants 
living at the extreme parts of its territory, especially 
those on Isle au Haut, as they lived at a distance from 
the place where the town meetings and elections were 
held, and, in order to transact business with the officers of 
the town, were obliged to cross a distance of five miles by 
water besides the travel by land from the south part of 
the island, some six miles. From the northern extreme to 
the southern was about twenty miles in a direct line. 
The length of Little Deer Island is about three miles 
from the northwestern to the southeastern extremities. 
Great Deer Island is not far from nine miles in length in 
a direct line from the northern end to the southern at the 
thoroughfare. Isle au Haut is about five miles in length, 
besides being five miles from the nearest part of Great 
Deer Island, and the incorporation of Isle au Haut into a 
town made it far more convenient for its inhabitants. 

After the establishment of the territorial limits of the 
town in 1868, it contained about twenty-six thousand 
acres, of which the town of Isle au Haut after its incor- 
poration contained nearly seven thousand acres, having 
now within the limits of the town not far from nineteen 
thousand. The town of Isle au Haut contains but little 
land capable of cultivation, and its value consists in its 
pasturage. It was settled by fishermen because of its 
convenience for their purpose, as at that time fish were 
more abundant there than now and could be taken nearer 
the shores. With them agriculture was not a considera- 
tion, for, had it been, it would never have been settled. 
The town of Deer Isle contains a large proportion of land 
that can never be cultivated, especially in the southern 
part ; and most of the early settlers depended upon fishing, 



TO ivy OF DEEK ISLE, MAIXE. 213 

in that part of the town. It has been their chief employ- 
ment for a large part of the time since, and in past 
years it has been carried on quite extensively. For the 
twenty years prior to 1840 Captain David Thurlow was 
engaged in it, owning several vessels and employing many 
men. He was engaged in the Labrador shore and mack- 
erel fisheries. From 1830 till 1845 the late Hon. Richard 
Warren was also engaged and did considerable in the 
business. From 1830 till i860 the late Samuel Whitmore, 
Esq. was quite largely engaged in it. From 1830 till 
1844 the late Mr. Avery Fifield did considerable in the 
business, as also did others till a later date. The most 
business carried on in the town at any time was by the 
Messrs. Warren, and Warren & Tolman, in fitting out 
vessels, inspecting mackerel, and owning vessels employed 
in the business, also in furnishing employment to a large 
number of men. It was commenced by them in 1845 ^"cl 
carried on till a few years after 1877. At present most of 
the mackerel-fishing is carried on by the Messrs. Webb, 
but since 1870 the business has declined to almost noth- 
ing, and the many young men who make it an employment 
sail out of other places — principally out of Gloucester. 
In i860 there were owned by inhabitants of this town 
about ten thousand tons of vessels, a very large part of 
which was employed in the fisheries. 

The northern part of the island is better adapted to 
agriculture than the southern, as the proportion of land 
incapable of being cultivated is smaller. Still there is a 
large proportion of it which can never be made profitable 
for the purpose, and in former years more attention was 
paid to that pursuit. The soil originally produced large 
crops, and had the early settlers been more judicious in 
the use of fire in clearing their lands, the soil would have 



214 "^-^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

retained its fertility much longer. It was by them an 
object to have the ground as dry as possible when fire was 
used, so as to clear it up more effectually; but the conse- 
quence was that with the wood the vegetable matter upon 
the top of the soil was destroyed, which was necessary to 
the durability of its fertility. After the benefit of the 
ashes was gone, the soil soon became less fertile and 
required heavy manuring. The same mistake was made 
elsewhere as well as here, and, had the ground been in 
such a state as to prevent too deep a burning, our farms 
would have been far more valuable. I recollect hearing 
it stated by one that a small farm of a few acres was 
cleared without burning the wood upon the ground, and 
its fertility was retained much longer than that of the 
lands around it. By this we may learn that although fire 
is necessary for the clearing of lands, its use should be 
prudent and at suitable times. 

The chief products of the farms here were, as in other 
towns in this vicinity, hay, grain, and potatoes ; the latter 
to quite an extent, especially prior to 1845, when the 
potato-rot first made its appearance. By the statistics 
procured by the person who took the census here in 1840, 
over thirty-six thousand bushels were returned, but since 
the rot commenced the crop has very much decreased. 
Now it has another enemy — the potato-bug, which came 
in 1880. From these two causes the crop will not receive 
the attention it otherwise would. The crop of grain has 
fallen short very much in comparison with the yield in 
former years, from the cause stated in the first part of the 
work, but should a gristmill be erected and maintained 
here, it would probably increase. 

The chief pursuit of the inhabitants in the northern 
part of the town is that of following the sea in coasting 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 215 

and on foreign voyages, but comparatively few as fishermen. 
Although it is profitable as a general thing, yet its effects 
are visible in the large proportion of widows, many of 
whom are those of mariners. At this time, March, 1882, 
there are about one hundred out of a population of about 
thirty-three hundred. From the nature of their employ- 
ment many lives are lost at sea. I have annexed a list 
of what vessels have been lost since 18 18, and of the 
persons on board who have been preserved in my memor\'. 

In 1818 the schooner Shakespeare, owned by Messrs. P. 
& F. Spofford, was lost, bound from Boston to Deer 
Isle; Captain John Green, master ; Frederick Spofford, 
Esq., passenger ; crew, Asa Green, Jr., Abner Babbidge, 
and Amos Angell. 

In 1822, or about that year, schooner Lingaii of Castine, 
Captain Benjamin S. Haskell, master, with his son, and 
David Perry, of this town. 

In 1830 sloop Hiuitress of Castine, bound from New 
York to Castine ; captain, John Greenlaw, Jr. ; Captain 
William Eaton, pilot ; crew, William Buckminster and 
Joseph Conary. 

In 1839 Captain Samuel Turner, of Isle au Haut, and 
his crew, with the exception of Mr. James Henderson, 
who survived and was taken off the wreck. The same 
year in a gale in Chaleur Bay, schooner Gcorgiaiia of Cas- 
tine ; David Colby, master ; crew, John Sellers, Henry 
Kellar, Thomas J. Colby, Mial Sylvester, Israel Dorr, Jr., 
and Joseph Dorr. 

In 1845 schooner Comviodorc Pcny, William D. Haskell, 
master ; Moses Haskell and Francis Haskell, 2d, who 
belonged here, and Miss Jane Cole, of this place, a pa.ssen- 
ger, on Long Ledge, near Mount Desert. 

In 1846 brig Lincoln, with four men, before referred to, 
from Calais with lumber. 



2l6 AiV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

In 1849 schooner Tamerlane of this place; John G. 
Green, master ; crew, Henry Pressey, Ebenezer Ball, 
Joseph H. Davis, and Joseph Haskell, all belonging here. 

In 1851, in Chaleur Bay, schooner Sarah of this place; 
Captain Levi Knight, master ; crew belonging here, Will- 
iam Knight, James Sellers, Amos Babbidge, Stinson 
Colby, Albion P. York, and Ephraim Crockett. 

The same year the schooner Lion of Castine ; Captain 
Enos Pressey, of this town, master ; and of the crew 
belonging here, George Pressey and Henry McClintock, 
lost, Joshua Pressey, 2d, saved. 

Also the same year schooner Mary Monltoji ; Captain 
Joseph Emerson and his brother, Samuel Emerson, both 
of this place ; the crew all lost. 

In 1875 schooner R. S. Warren, Captain Frederick T. 
Pickering, master ; crew belonging here, George Picker- 
ing, Lewis K. Gray, William E. Thompson, Amazene 
Stinson, John H. Morey, and a son of the captain. 

In 1879 Captain William Richardson in a vessel owned 
by himself ; with him were his son and Herbert Greenlaw. 

The same year brig Anna D. Torrey, Captain John H. 
Bray, master ; James Bray, mate. 

In 1 88 1 Captain William C. Emerson and his step-son 
when bound to Boston in a vessel loaded with stone. 

Several years ago — the exact date to us unknown — 
there were lost on Fire Island near Long Island, New 
York, four of the crew of a brig commanded by Captain 
William H. Reed, of this town, in attempting to land. 
They were : Cummings M. Torrey, mate ; Alfred Simpson, 
Warren F. Scott, and Gardiner Weed, seamen. 

Of the crew of the schooner yulietta Tilden, lost in 1867, 
in Chaleur Bay, were the captain, Benjamin H. Sylvester, 
and Everett F. Saunders, residents here. There have 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 217 

been several persons lost sailing out of other ports at 
different times who belonged here. 

W'e have noticed two of the early physicians who prac- 
tised here, and it would be proper to extend our notices to 
those who came after. About the year 1824 Dr. Abiel 
Reed, a native of Newcastle, Maine, came and remained 
till his death, which took place not far from the year 1870. 
He married the widow of Captain Benjamin S. Haskell, 
and they had two children : the son was Captain William 
H. Reed, who moved to Portland a few years ago ; and 
the daughter first married a Mr. Austin, of some town 
near Bangor, and afterward she became the wife of Mr. 
Levi IMarshall, Jr. She is now^ dead. Dr. Reed was a 
man of education, very well informed, and was said to be 
well read in his profession ; but he did not have much 
success in his practice. 

After him came a Dr. Abbot, who did not remain long ; 
but from what place he came, or went to from here, is 
not known to us. His leaving town was prior to 1830. 

In the year 1830, or about that time, came Dr. John 
Phillips from the town of Dixmont, Maine. He was a 
native of Massachusetts and remained about ten years, 
and while here he had considerable practice. 

In 1838, or about that time. Dr. Amos A. Herrick, of 
Sedgwick, came and practised till about the year 1845. 
He was quite successful in his practice, and married Miss 
Sarah, daughter of Pearl Spofford, Esq. He removed to 
his native place and died in a few years after. 

In 1845 came Dr. Joel Richardson, a native of the 
town of Eden, Maine ; he remained about four vears, then 
removed to Rockland, where he practised till a few years 
ago, removing to the State of Wisconsin. He was a 
diligent student and became skilful in his profession. 



2l8 A.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

In 1849 D^- William F. Collins succeeded Dr. Richard- 
son and remained till his death in 1858. He had an 
extensive practice, and all who knew him had a favorable 
opinion of him as a physician ; his death was much 
regretted here. He married Miss Eliza A. Spofford, the 
youngest daughter of Pearl Spofford, Esq. 

The general health of the inhabitants of this town has 
been as good as that of other towns in this vicinity. In 
1828 a disease prevailed here which was very fatal, and, 
as has been understood, about sixty persons in the town 
died of it. What its exact nature was is now unknown, 
but, as has been stated, of those who were attacked every 
one who was bled (as then was the practice in most 
diseases) died, and but few recovered* 

The longevity in the town will perhaps compare with 
that in other towns in the county. The number of per- 
sons between 90 and 100 years is 3 ; those over 80 
and under 90 years, 23 ; those over 70 and under 80 
years, 84, — in all, no over 70 years, or about i m 30 
persons. 

We will now give a list of those persons, with their 
ages, who have since 1833 attained the age of ninety 
years and upward, and died in this town : — 

In 1833, Mrs. Colby, widow of Joseph Colby, aged 97. 
,, 1835, Mrs. Small, widow of Job Small, aged 96. 
,, 1835, Mrs. Carman, widow of Levi Carman, aged 91. 
,, 1836, Mrs. Thompson, widow of Thomas Thompson, aged 91. 
,, 1838, Mr. Calvin Turner, aged 90. 
,, 1842, Ignatius Haskell, Esq., aged 91. 
,, 1842, Mr. Elijah Dunham, aged 90. 
,, 1844, Mr. Joseph Sellers, aged 92. 
,, 1844, Mrs. Colby, widow of Ambrose Colby, aged 92. 
,, 1850, Mrs. Raynes, widow of John Raynes, aged 91. 
,, 1852, Mrs. Barbour, widow of Solomon Barbour, aged 92. 



TOJV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 219 

In 1S54, Timotliy Hillings, aged 90. 
1854, John Closson, aged 90. 

1557, Mrs. Tyler, widow of Joseph Tyler, Esq., aged 93. 
1859, Major Nathan Low, aged 94. 
i860, Francis Marsliall, aged 92. 
1863, Peter Hardy, aged 93. 
1863, Naylor Small, aged 91. 
1863, or about that time, Mrs. Closson, widow of John Closson, 

aged 91. 
Mrs. Closson, widow of Xehemiah Closson, aged 91. 
1866, Robert Campbell, aged 93. 

1865, Joseph Clifton, aged 94. 

1866, Mrs. Thurston, widow of Amos Thurston, aged 91. 
1859, Mrs. Lunt, widow of Micajah Lunt, aged 95. 
1S64, Edward Small, aged 94. 

1558, David Torrey, aged 90. 
1869, William Raynes, aged 91, 
1869, Mrs. Alexander, widow of Ezekiel Alexander, aged 93. 

187 1, Mrs. Powers, widow of Dr. Moody Powers, aged 91. 

1872, Abijah Haskell, aged 91. 
1S73, Jonathan Haskell, aged 94. 
1875, Mrs. Torrey, widow of James Torrey, aged 91. 
1875. Mrs. Carman, wife of Frederick Carman, aged 90. 
1879, •^^■'s- Torrey, widow of David Torrey, aged 97. 
1 882, Mrs. Porter, jvidow of William Porter, of Lyme, New Hamp- 
shire, aged 93. 

,, 1882, .Mrs. Sarah Fifield, aged 96. 
— In all, thirty-si.x persons. 



2 20 ^^'\' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



CHAPTER IV. 

MUNICIPAL AND MISCELLANEOUS. 

THE act of incorporation was passed January 30, 
1789, and was approved by John Hancock, as 
governor. By the act Gabriel Johonnot, Esq., who then 
resided in tliat part of the town of Penobscot now 
included in the town of Castine, was authorized to issue 
his warrant to some principal inhabitant, directing him to 
notify the inhabitants of this town to meet at such time 
and place as he might appoint, for the choice of town 
officers; and his warrant was issued March 17, 1789, to 
George Tyler, Esq., who issued his notice to the inhabi- 
tants to meet at the meeting-house — which then stood 
where the Town House now stands — on Monday, April 6, 
at nine of the clock in the forenoon, for the choice of 
town officers, and to act upon such other business as 
might be necessary, and also to give in their votes 
for a Governor, Lieutenant-governor, a State Senator, 
and a Registrar of Deeds. 

Pursuant to said notice the inhabitants met at the time 
and place appointed and chose Thomas Stinson, Esq., 
Moderator, Rev. Peter Powers, Town Clerk, and five 
Selectmen, to wit : Thomas Stinson, Esq., Captain Thomas 
Robbins, Mr. William Foster, Mr. Nathan Haskell, and 
Mr. Joseph Sellers ; and Captain Ignatius Haskell, Treas- 
urer, besides other officers. The Rev. Mr. Powers during 
the year resigned the office of Town Clerk, and Nathan 
Haskell, Esq. was chosen, who was elected to said office 
till the year 1S03. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 221 

There was the sum of one huncU-cd pounds voted as sal- 
ary to the minister, according to contract, which contract 
was made by the inhabitants when the call to Mr. Powers 
was made August 23, 1785. There then was an agree- 
ment to build him a house thirty-six by twenty feet, of one 
story, and it was to be finished in the same manner that 
houses commonly are in country towns. 

Also there was the sum of si.xty pounds voted to be laid 
out upon the roads, and for a man's labor the sum of four 
shillings was to be allowed, and three shillings for oxen per 
day. George Tyler, Esq. was chosen representative to the 
General Court. 

1790. 

The following-named persons were chosen selectmen : 
Thomas Robbins, William Foster, Joseph Sellers, Theoph- 
ilus Eaton, and Thomas Stinson. There was also voted 
the same sum as was the year previous for the support of 
the minister, and the sum of eighty pounds for the pur- 
pose of defraying town charges, and eightpence on the 
pound as the collector's commission. Also the sum of 
twelve shillings to Mr. Benjamin Cole for sweeping and 
taking care of the meeting-house. At a meeting held 
May 6th it was voted not to choose a representative, and 
this and the previous year the controversy respecting the 
lands in the town between the settlers and Messrs. Joseph 
and George Tyler were often acted upon in the town 
meetings. This year the town treasurer was instructed to 
repair the meeting-house, to furnish it with glass so that it 
might be comfortable, and charge the cost to the town's 
account. 

1791. 

This year Messrs. W'illiam Foster, Caleb Haskell, and 
Joseph Sellers were chosen selectmen. It was voted not 



2 22 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

to choose a representative, and it was also voted to divide 
the town into five school districts. At the same meeting 
it was agreed that one school should be kept at the school- 
house on Webster's land (now occupied by William R. and 
Albert N. Sellers) ; one at or near the mill at the North- 
west Harbor ; one at or near Joseph Colby's at Southeast 
Harbor ; one at or near John Howard's, near the house at 
present occupied by Mr. William E. Knight, and the other 
near Jonathan Torrey's, near the corner of the road lead- 
ing from the Reach to the Northwest Harbor. It was also 
voted that the inhabitants upon Stinson's Neck should be 
exempted from taxation for the support of schools, and 
the sum of thirty-six pounds was raised for the support of 
schools. If any district should neglect keeping a school 
for the time according to its proportion of the money 
raised for one year, such district should forfeit its pro- 
portion for the use of the town. The town accepted the 
house built for the Rev. Mr. Powers, and voted that it be 
made a town charge. 

1792. 

Messrs. Caleb Haskell, Joseph Sellers, and William 
Foster were chosen selectmen, and the sum of forty 
pounds was voted for the support of schools. It was also 
voted to raise no money for town charges. At a town 
meeting held on the seventh day o^ May, it was voted not 
to choose a representative, and at the same time it was 
voted that all future town meetings be warned by posting 
up three notifications, to wit : one at the meeting-house, 
one at Haskell's gristmill, and one at Tyler's gristmill. 
It was also voted to lay out a new burying-ground, and the 
committee chosen for the purpose were Mr. Ezekiel Morey, 
Captain John Hooper, and Captain Ignatius Haskell. 



TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 223 

1793- 
Messrs. William Foster, Caleb Haskell, and Joseph Sel- 
lers were elected selectmen, and the sum of fifty pounds 
was raised for the support of schools. The sum of fifty 
pounds was raised for repair of highways, and thirty 
pounds for payment of town charges. In May it was 
voted not to choose a representative. 

1794. 

The town chose as selectmen the persons who were 
elected the previous year, and voted to raise one hundred 
pounds for the support of schools ; also, that Babbidge's 
Neck be the sixth school district, and that Little Deer 
Island be the seventh. In May it was voted not to choose 
a representative. At a meeting held September 30, it was 
voted to give the men who should voluntarily enlist, a sum 
in addition to their monthly pay, to make up their wages 
— eight dollars per month — for the time they should be 
called into actual service, until they were discharged ; three 
shillings per day in case they should be called to form a 
detachment. 

1795- 

Messrs. Job Small, Nathan Haskell, and Thomas 
Thompson were chosen selectmen. The sum of one hun- 
dred pounds was raised for the support of schools, the 
same amount for repair of roads, and the sum of thirty- 
five pounds to defray town charges. It was also agreed to 
consider some proper method to build a meeting-house, 
and one hundred pounds was raised to be appropriated for 
the purpose and a committee of three, to wit, Messrs. 
Ignatius Haskell, Thomas Thompson, and Thomas Small, 
was chosen to expend the said sum in providing suitable 
timber and other materials for building. No representa- 
tive was chosen this year. 



2 24 ^^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1796. 

Messrs. Edmund Sylvester, Joseph Sellers, and Thomas 
Thompson were chosen selectmen. It was voted to release 
the inhabitants of Little Deer Island from working on the 
highways ; also, to build a pound near the Carying place, 
and stocks near the meeting-house. The sum of one hun- 
dred dollars was voted for the purpose; $333.34 was 
raised for the repairing of highways ; also, $166.67 for the 
support of schools. No representative was chosen this 
year. 

1797. 

Messrs. Edmund Sylvester, Joseph Sellers, and Nsfthan 
Haskell were chosen selectmen, and there was voted the 
sum of $100 for town charges; $333.67 for schools, and 
the same amount for repairing highways. No representa- 
tive was chosen this year. It was voted that no person 
not an inhabitant of the town should dig or carry off any 
clams from any bank or flats within the limits of the town ; 
that the sum of fifty cents for each bushel so taken should 
be the penalty, one half to the use of the town and the 
remainder to the prosecutor. A committee of fourteen 
was chosen to see that the said vote should be put into 
execution. 

1798. 

Messrs. Joseph Sellers, Edmund Sylvester, and Nathan 
Haskell were chosen selectmen, and no money was voted 
for the support of schools. One hundred pounds was 
voted for the repairing of highways and $100 for the pay- 
ment of town charges. This year Captain Ignatius Has- 
kell was chosen representative to the General Court. In 
November a town meeting was held for the purpose of 
agreeing upon some suitable method of supplying the 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 



--D 



preaching for the coming winter, as the Rev. Mr. Powers 
was unable to supply the desk through infirmity and sick- 
ness. A committee was chosen, and it was instructed 
to apply to Mr. Ebenezer Eaton, if he could be obtained. 



1799. 

At the annual meeting in April the persons who were 
elected the previous year were chosen selectmen. The 
sum of three hundred dollars was raised for the support of 
preaching. A committee was chosen for the purpose of 
providing for the pulpit, and a committee of one from each 
school district to provide teachers for the several school 
districts. Three hundred dollars was raised for repair of 
highways, one hundred dollars for the payment of town 
charges, and the same sum for the purchase of military 
stores. At the meeting in May it was voted not to send 
a representative, which vote was reconsidered at a meet- 
ing on the twenty-seventh day of the month. The town 
agreed to send one on the condition: "That he should 
bring no additional expense on the town, and procure two 
bondsmen for that purpose." Messrs. Joseph Tyler and 
Peter Hardy offered themselves as such for any person 
whom the town should chose. They were accepted by the 
town. George Tyler, Esq. was elected representative. 

This year there was a controversy between the town 
and Mr. Josiah Crockett, who claimed a lot of land sold 
by the town to Mr. Ebenezer Webster, for the support of 
a pauper. Mr. Crockett had recovered the land at an 
action-in-law, and after considerable expense the matter 
was settled with the occupant of the land under Mr. 
Webster, of whom he had purchased it. The sum paid by 
the town was six hundred dollars. 



2 26 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1800. 

This year Messrs. Joseph Tyler, Prescott Powers, and 
Edmund Sylvester were chosen selectmen. It was also 
voted that when any vote should be called for which was 
of importance, it should be by written ballot, and after 
such a vote should be declared, it should not be disputed. 
This was to apply to all future meetings. The committee 
formerly chosen to supply the pulpit was instructed to 
engage the Rev. Mr. Page, if he could be obtained. The 
sum of $333 was raised for the support of preaching ; 
$250 for the support of schools ; $333.33 for repairing 
highways ; and $100 for the payment of town charges was 
voted. The selectmen were directed to take measures to 
prevent the setting of fires in dry times, and the carrying 
firebrands about so as to expose the property of individ- 
uals, by drafting some orders, and to annex fines and 
penalties for the breach thereof, and to procure the appro- 
bation of the Court of Sessions to the same, that it might 
become a town law. In May it was not voted to send a 
representative; there being 17 votes in favor of, and }i6 
against, sending one. 

1801. 

This year Messrs. Joseph Tyler, Jonathan Haskell, and 
Prescott Powers were chosen selectmen. The following 
sums were voted : $300 for the support of preaching, and 
$100 to pay town expenses. There appears not to have 
been any sum raised for the repair of highways, only the 
town was to furnish two thousand feet of two and one-half 
inch plank for the use of the bridge over Tyler's Mill- 
stream. It was also voted that each district should 
raise its own money to keep its schools and pay its 
teachers ; also, that a new valuation be taken, and that 



TOWX OF DEER IS/.E, MA LYE. 22 7 

" no person should use firelight in taking fish within the 
limits of the town, under the penalty of thirty dollars for 
each barrel so taken." Joseph Tyler, Esq. was this year 
chosen representative. At the same meeting, which was 
held in May, the sum of two hundred pounds was voted for 
the purpose of the repairs of highways. In December a 
meeting was held, and it was voted that the treasurer 
should call on Mr. George Tyler's bondsmen to refund the 
money which said Mr. George Tyler took out of the treas- 
ury at Boston, with which the town was taxed as "repre- 
sentative's pay," agreeably to a vote of that meeting at 
which he was chosen. By reference to the doings of the 
meeting in May, 1799, the matter will be understood. 

1S02. 

This year Messrs. William Foster, Jonathan Eaton, and 
Ignatius Haskell were chosen selectmen, and Messrs. 
Edmund Sylvester, Caleb Haskell, and David Angell, 
assessors. The following sums were voted : $330 for the 
support of preaching, 3330 for the support of schools, 
Si 50 to defray town charges, $600.67 for repairs of high- 
ways ; that one half of these sums should be paid in six 
months, and the remainder in one year. At the meeting 
in May it was voted not to choose a representative. 

1803. 

This year Messrs. Joseph Tyler, Chase Prcssey, and 
Jonathan Haskell were chosen selectmen, and Mr. Pres- 
cott Powers, town clerk. The following sums were 
raised : $333.33 for the support of schools, S666.66 for 
repairs of highways. At the meeting in May it was voted 
not to send a representative. At the same time the sum 
of Sioo "was raised for the support of the gospel, S200 
for town use, and Si 50 to provide a town stock of powder, 



228 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

lead, flints, kettles, etc.," and it was voted that no man 
should carry a firebrand off his own land between sunset 
and sunrise, on penalty of five dollars. In July of the 
same year the sum of $ioo was raised for the support of 
the gospel, and $50 in addition for contingent expenses. 
The sum of $50 was taken from that which had pre- 
viously been raised to procure a stock of powder. At a 
meeting held in October it was voted to give Rev. 
Joseph Brown a call to settle over them in the ministry 
and to pay him $400 yearly as salary. He was to have 
the use of the parsonage lot, and the expenses of moving 
his family and furniture were to be paid, also to furnish 
him a residence until a parsonage house was built. In 
November it was voted to build a parsonage house, and a 
barn of the dimensions of thirty by forty feet, said build- 
ing to be finished by the first day of November, 1804. 

1804. 

This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Chase Pressey, and 
Joseph Tyler were chosen selectmen. Fifty dollars was 
raised for the support of the poor, $300 for town charges, 
$421 to pay the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown and arrear- 
ages, $1,000 for the purpose of building the parsonage 
house and barn, $600 for repair of highways ; and that 
each district vote and raise its own school-money. At 
the meeting in May it was voted not to send a representa- 
tive. In November the sum of $300 was raised for the 
purpose of repairs of Long Cove Bridge. On August 14, 
Rev. Joseph Brown was ordained over the church here. 

1805. 

This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Chase Pressey, 
and Prescott Powers were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
lowing sums were raised : $700 for town charges, $200 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIAE. 229 

for support of schools, $50 for payment of frame of the 
parish barn, and $600 for repairs of highways and bridges. 
In May, $160 was raised for the purpose of finishing 
the parsonage barn and $75 for digging a well near the 
house on the parsonage. A new valuation was voted to 
be taken by one of the assessors. It was voted not to 
send a representative to the General Court. 

1806. 
This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, 
and Chase Pressey were chosen selectmen. There were 
voted, in addition to the sum raised for the salary of the 
Rev. Mr. Brown, the following sums : $250 to pay up 
arrearages, $100 to lay out on the parsonage house, $300 
for town charges, $400 for schools, and $600 for repairs 
of highways ; and although the warrant contained an 
article- for the choice of a representative, nothing is 
shown by the records that action was taken upon the 
subject. 

1807. 

Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, and David 
Angell were chosen selectmen. It was voted that there 
should be but one constable, and that William Young be 
constable. The following sums were raised : $400 for 
the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, $150 for town charges, 
S400 for support of schools, and the vote upon the sum 
to be raised for repairs of highways was postponed till 
the meeting in May ; 380 was raised for the support of 
the poor. At the meeting in May it was voted not to 
send a representative, and it was voted to give a bounty 
to destroy crows ; the sum of $700 was raised for the 
purpose of repairs of highways and bridges. At a sub- 
sequent meeting, held on the twenty-eighth of the same 



230 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



month, the sum of $300 was voted, in addition to the 
sum before raised, for repairs of highways, and also $50 
additional for town charges. 

1808. 

This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, 
and Pearl Spofford were chosen selectmen. Besides the 
salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, the following sums were 
raised : $50 for the support of the poor, $200 for the 
support of schools, $800 for highways and bridges, and 
$250 for town charges. It was voted that the taxes 
be paid into the treasury in quarterly payments ; also, 
to pass over the petition of James Eaton and others, pray- 
ing to be excused from paying the minister's salary. In 
May it was voted not to send a representative. This 
year Messrs. Hezekiah Lane, James Eaton, and others 
petitioned the General Court that they might be incor- 
porated into a religious society, by the name of the First 
Baptist Society of Deer Isle ; and at a meeting held on 
the twenty-sixth of December the town voted to remon- 
strate to the General Court against it, and a committee of 
three was appointed to draft the remonstrance. 

1809. 

On January 17 it was voted at a town meeting that the 
town disapproves the Embargo laws then in force, and a 
petition was voted to be made to the General Court for 
relief under the said law, for the distressed and embar- 
rassed situation of the people here. At the annual meet- 
ing Messrs. Nathan Haskell, Pearl Spofford, and David 
Thurlow were chosen selectmen. It was voted to release 
James Eaton and fifteen others from paying their money 
toward a minister tax. The usual sum was raised for 



TOWy OF DEER ISLE, iMAIXE. 23 I 

the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, $200 for town charges, 
$250 for schools, and S800 for highways and bridges. 
This year Captain Pearl Spofford was chosen representa- 
tive. 

1810. 

This year Messrs. Nathan Haskell, Pearl Spofford, and 
Chase Pressey were chosen selectmen. The salary of the 
Rev. Mr. Brown was raised, $300 for support of schools, 
Sioo for arrearages on account of poor, $^6 for expense 
on the account of poor for this year, $60 to purchase a 
stock of powder, $110 due Captain Ignatius Haskell on 
account of interest money, $100 for town expenses, and 
S500 for highways and bridges. It was also voted to tax 
the Baptists with others for minister tax, and allow those 
who belonged to that society to receive their part of the 
same, to appropriate to their own religious use. Pearl 
Spofford, Esq. was chosen representative at the meeting in 
May. 

1811. 

Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, and Pearl 
Spofford were chosen selectmen this year. The following 
sums were raised : S420 for salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown 
and the Baptist brethren, $600 for highways, $130 for sup- 
port of the poor, $400 for schools, 5200 for town charges, 
and $40 to complete the town's military magazine and to 
replace ammunition that might be drawn out on muster 
days. In May two representatives were chosen, namely 
Captain Ignatius Haskell and Pearl Spofford, Esq., and an 
additional sum of '^2j6 was raised toward defraying town 
charges. A vote was at the same time passed adverse to 
setting off the District of Maine into a separate State. 
The representatives from this town were instructed to 
oppose it. 



232 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



I8l2. 

This year Messrs. Nathan Haskell, Pearl Spofford, and 
Joshua Haskell were chosen selectmen. In addition to 
the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, the following sums were 
raised : $400 for schools, $500 for highways and bridges, 
$200 for a bridge over Tyler's Millpond. The other votes 
relative to the raising of money were deferred till another 
meeting, at which the sum of $250 was voted to defray 
the expense of the poor and town charges. Pearl Spofford 
and Prescott Powers, Esquires, were chosen representatives. 
At a meeting held on the eighteenth of July, it was voted 
that the selectmen be authorized to petition the govern- 
ment of the United States, or some suitable officer of the 
United States Army, for one or more companies of United 
States soldiers, to be stationed on Deer Isle for defence of 
the same. Also that the selectmen be authorized to peti- 
tion the Governor and Council of this Commonwealth for 
the loan of sixty muskets and four four-pound guns for the 
defence of the town, and that the late detachment from 
the militia may not be taken away from the town. This 
same year at a town meeting held on the fifteenth day of 
August, resolutions were passed reflecting strongly upon 
the then present administration, and the declaration of 
war ; but at that time party feelings ran high and led to 
acts of indiscretion and violence of language. 

1813. 
The board of selectmen elected the former year was 
reelected, and $500 was raised for the repair of highways 
and bridges, $400 for support of schools, and the usual sum 
.as salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown. At a meeting in April 
.several amounts were voted for town purposes. Messrs. 
Prescott Powers and Pearl Spofford were chosen represen- 



TOJV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 233 

tatives, and the vote raising $400 for support of schools 
was reconsidered, and no sum was raised for the purpose 
at the meeting. A remonstrance was voted against 
removing the courts from Castine to Buckstown, now 
Hucksport. 

1814. 

At a meeting held on the thirty-first of January, reso- 
lutions were passed relative to the late Embargo law, 
and it was then voted that they be presented to the 
General Court. At the annual meeting the board of 
selectmen for 1813 was reelected, and the following sums 
were voted : $400 for minister's salary, and the same 
amount for support of schools. At a meeting on the 
fourth of April the sum of $100 was voted for town ex- 
penses, and it was voted to build a pound. In May Nathan 
Haskell and Frederick Spofford, Esquires, were elected 
representatives. In November a meeting was held, and it 
was then voted to make a new assessment of all town 
ta.xes before assessed, leaving out the state tax ; also to 
indemnify the assessors and collector from all costs and 
damages that might hereafter arise on account of not 
assessing the county tax and not collecting the state 
and county taxes. The town ordered the assessors not to 
assess the county tax for 18 14. 

In August, this year, the United States frigate Adams 
ran upon a ledge near Isle au Haut and the guns on 
board with other articles were landed. A tent was erected 
for the accommodation of some of her crew who were 
sick of the scurvy. She had several prisoners-of-war on 
board. Her captain employed the late Mr. Robert Knowl- 
ton and his brother, who had a small vessel that was em- 
ployed in fishing, to carry their prisoners to Thomaston, 
the part of which is now Rockland. While on their pas- 



234 ■'^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

sage there they made an attempt to take the vessel, but 
Mr. Knowlton and his brother were very resolute and 
gave them to understand that it would not be safe for 
them to undertake it. They then became quiet and were 
carried to their place of destination. The ship was got 
off the ledge and went up the river to Hampden, where, a 
short time after, she was blown up by her captain — Morris 
— in order to prevent her falling into the hands of the 
British, who took possession of Castine shortly after she 
was taken up the river. 

During the latter part of this year, or in the earlier part 
of 1815, an English brig loaded with beef, pork, and 
salmon, and a deckload of lumber, sailed from Castine for 
the West Indies. Her mate was a resident of this town. 
While sailing down the bay she was intercepted by an 
American privateer, who gave chase to and fired upon her. 
Finding escape impossible the brig ran into Small's Cove, 
and went aground upon the bar that is at its mouth, the 
privateer following and continuing firing, which was an- 
swered by the brig. After the brig grounded, the privateer 
anchored as near as was safe and, by firing, disabled her. 
The noise of the guns attracted many people to the spot, 
and soon quite a large crowd was gathered. One of their 
number, having a gun, fired at the lieutenant of the priva- 
teer, who had gone aloft to look out. The brig was taken 
possession of by the officers of the privateer, and they 
gave the inhabitants permission to take what lumber or 
other articles of which her load was composed, and a 
prize-master was put on board. During the night a num- 
ber of persons assembled with the intention of retaking 
the brig and carrying her back to Castine. The prize- 
master escaped to the shore and was lost in the woods, 
and in the morning went to the house of an inhabitant 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 235 

who did not sympathize with the enemy, and was carried 
to a place of safety. The lieutenant of the privateer was 
on board the brig and would have fired into the mob, as 
it certainly was, had not some one of the inhabitants 
taken what jjowder there was to be found on board her, as 
she had guns on board, which, if loaded and discharged 
into the crowd, might have done much damage, and at the 
time it was fortunate that the powder was carried off. He 
heard the names of the persons assembled called over, 
and learned by whom they were headed, but the attempt 
to retake her was unsuccessful. The next day the brig 
was taken off. The captain of the privateer, armed, came 
on shore and took the mate, who was among others assem- 
bled there, and by threats compelled him to go with him 
on board the privateer, which took the prize to Wiscasset, 
where she was condemned. Not long after the prize- 
master was taken over to Thomaston, but the inhabitants 
here were cautious, for fear that what they did might be 
the cause of trouble to them from the enemy. The British 
at Castine did not thank their sympathizers here for what 
they did, as they said " they were able to fight their own 
battles." It was said that the captain of the privateer 
intended to retaliate upon the persons in the company 
whose names he heard called over, by raising a company 
of persons engaged in the business of privateering, and 
coming here and doing to the individuals whatever damage 
he was able, but as peace was soon proclaimed, it was not 
done. With all the charity we have, we can see no excuse 
for the act of attempt to retake. It was one of the cases 
in which political feelings vent themselves in acts not to 
be justified, as the practice of j:)rivateering was allowed 
by all nations at the time. If it had been attempted in 
the case of a prize taken by a United States armed vessel. 



236 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

it must, of course, have been treason, as it would have fallen 
within the limits of its definition given in the Constitu- 
tion. The act was long remembered to the prejudice of 
those engaged in it. Thirty years afterward one of their 
number was a candidate for an office of respectability, 
when the charge was brought up. He was interrogated 
about it in the public town meeting and admitted it, while 
his competitor was one of those who enlisted and served 
through the War of 1812, and was honorably discharged. 
This shows us that if any one comes before the people as 
a candidate for their suffrages, there is always some one 
who remembers his wrongdoings. 

1815. 
The board of selectmen for 18 14 was reelected. It was 
then voted that the state and county taxes for the year 
18 14 be assessed and committed forthwith. By the records 
of that year we find they were not assessed, and we are 
at a loss to discover why. Six hundred dollars were raised 
for the highways and to complete the town pound, ^400 
for the Rev. Mr. Brown, and the same amount for schools. 
It was also voted that " no swine should be allowed to go at 
large upon the commons or highways in the town with or 
without yokes and rings." In May Messrs. Nathan Haskell 
and Pearl Spofford, Esquires, were elected representatives. 
At a meeting on the third day of April the sum of $300 
additional was voted for the support of the poor and for 
town charges. At a meeting on the tenth of June it was 
voted to choose sixteen men as a committee to assist the 
tithingmen of the town to enforce the due observance of 
the Sabbath, and suppression of intemperance, in said 
town. The committee was : Messrs. Deacon Joshua 
Haskell, William Foster, Benjamin Cole, John Howard, 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MALXE. 237 

James Jordan, Chase Pressey, Courtney Babbid^^e, Nathan 
Low, Peter Hardy, Jr., William Greenlaw, William Stin- 
son, John Scott, Peletiah Barter, Elijah Dunham, Thomas 
Robbins, and Joseph Whitmore. 

1816. 

This year the previous board of selectmen was chosen. 
The sum of S300 was voted to defray town charges and 
support the poor, ;5400 for repair of highways and to 
finish the pound, S400 for support of schools. In May 
Messrs. Pearl Spofford and Prescott Powers, Esquires, 
were elected representatives. For a choice of a delegate 
to attend a convention to be held at Brunswick in the 
month of September, a meeting was held in August, and 
Pearl Spofford was chosen. On the question of a separa- 
tion of the District of Maine from Massachusetts there 
were given : For the separation, none ; against it, one 
hundred and sixty votes. This year there appears to have 
been no salary for the Rev. Mr. Brown. 

1 817. 

This year Messrs. Ignatius liaskell, Jonathan Haskell 
and Frederick Spofford were elected selectmen. It was 
voted " that the overseers expose for sale at public auction 
the poor of the town to the lowest bidder, on the day of 
the next annual April meeting." Four hundred dollars was 
voted for highways and bridges, and $600 for support of 
schools. In May Messrs. Frederick Spofford and Nathan 
Haskell, Esquires, were elected representatives, and the 
sum of $500 was voted to pay town charges and support 
the poor. The vote for the sale of the poor was amended 
so as to allow the overseers to dispose of them, and apply 
town moneys for their support at their own discretion. 



238 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1818. 

This year the board of selectmen for the previous 
year was elected. Three hundred dollars were voted for 
repairs of highways and bridges, and $400 for schools. 
At a meeting in April the sum of $400 was raised for 
town charges and for the poor. In May Messrs. Pearl 
Spofford and Hezekiah Rowell, Esquires, were elected 
representatives, and the latter was chosen to fill the 
vacancy in the board of selectmen, occasioned by the 
death of Frederick Spofford, Esq., and Mr. Benjamin 
Cole was chosen sexton. 

18 19. 

This year Messrs. Ignatius Haskell, Jonathan Haskell, 
and Joseph Noyes were elected selectmen. The sum of 
^400 was raised for the support of schools, and $600 for 
repair of highways and bridges. In May the sum of $900 
was voted for town expenses and support of poor, $200 to 
pay the Rev. Mr. Brown for betterments on the parsonage, 
and the article for raising money for the support of the 
gospel was passed over. Messrs. Pearl Spofford and 
Hezekiah Rowell, Esquires, were elected representatives- 
In July the question of a separation of Maine from Massa- 
chusetts was acted upon, and there were given in the 
affirmative twenty, and in the negative eighty-eight, votes. 
In September a meeting was held for the choice of dele- 
gates to attend the convention for the purpose of forming 
a State Constitution. Messrs. Ignatius Haskell and Asa 
Green were chosen, and the Constitution was voted upon 
at a meeting in December. The number of votes in 
favor was twenty-two, and in the negative one vote. 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 239 

1820. 

This year Messrs. Ignatius Haskell, Nathan Haskell, 
and Joseph Noyes were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$400 was voted for the support of schools, $600 for high- 
ways, and $400 for the support of the poor and the pay- 
ment of town charges. At the meeting a committee was 
chosen " to prevent non-residents from digging clams in 
the town." It was also voted that the selectmen and clerk 
prepare and forward a petition to the First Legislature 
praying in behalf of the town, " that the Circuit Courts 
of Common Pleas may be abolished, and such courts 
established as a substitute in each town, and such exten- 
sion of power given to justices of the peace, as the Legis- 
lature shall think fit and proper." Pearl Spofford, Esq. 
was elected representative to the Legislature of Maine, 
and the votes -were as follows: For Pearl Spofford, 92 
votes ; for Asa Green, 70 ; Ignatius Haskell, 7 ; and 
Samuel Allen, 6. 

1821. 

This year Messrs. Pearl Spofford, Stephen Babbidge, 
and Richard Warren were elected selectmen. The sum 
of S200 was raised for town charges and $600 for the same 
purpose for the year previous ; $400 for the support of 
the poor ; $300 for support of schools, and $500 for repair 
of highways and bridges. It was also voted to sell the 
poor at auction, and there follows a list of such unfortu- 
nate persons as were disposed of under this vote. At the 
annual election in September Hezekiah Torrey was elected 
representative, having si.xty votes to fifty-four for Asa 
Green, two for Solomon Haskell, and one for Hezekiah 
Rowell, Esq., and in the February following five persons 
were licensed as retailers of sjMrits under the law then in 
force. 



240 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1822. 

The board of selectmen for the year previous was 
chosen. The sum of $450 was voted for town expenses 
and support of poor; $736.80 for schools, and $800 for 
highways and bridges. For representative, Richard War- 
ren was elected, having sixty-eight votes. Ignatius 
Haskell, Esq. had sixty-five votes, and Mark Haskell 
one. 

1823. 

This year Messrs. Pearl Spofford, Richard Warren, and 
George Kimball, Esquires, were chosen selectmen. The 
sum of $750 was raised to defray town charges ; $736.80 
for schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. At the 
annual election in September, Solomon Haskell, Esq. 
was chosen representative, having ninety-six votes to 
fifty-one for Hezekiah Torrey, Esq. 

1824. 

This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Stephen Babbidge, 
and Peter Hardy, Jr. were chosen selectmen. The sum 
of $350 was voted for town charges, $736.80 for schools, 
and $1,000 for highways and bridges. It was voted that 
the expense of assessing and collecting taxes, together 
with the fees of the treasurer, be taken out of the school- 
money. It was also voted to defend the law case of the 
town with the town of St. George on account of the Welch 
family. At the election in September Deacon William 
Stinson was elected representative, having sixty-nine 
votes to forty for Stephen Babbidge, sixteen for George 
Kimball, Esq., two for John Foster, and one for Asa 
Green. 



toivjV of deek isle, maixe. 241 

1825. 

This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Peter Hardy, 2d, 
and Samuel Webb were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$400 was voted for town charges, $736.80 for schools, and 
$1,000 for highways and bridges. It was voted to provide 
rations for soldiers on the days of inspection and review. 
George Kimball, Esq. was elected representative, having 
one hundred and six votes. No other person was voted 
for, as appears by the records. 

1826. 

This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Samuel Webb, and 
Joseph C. Stinson were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$5 50 was voted for town charges and support of the poor, 
S736.80 for schools, and S 1,000 for highways and bridges. 
It was voted to pay each soldier twenty cents in cash 
instead of rations otherwise provided by law. At the 
election in September William Webb was elected repre- 
sentative, having fifty-five votes to thirty-two for David 
Thurlow, seven for Stephen Babbidge, and two for 
Edward Haskell, Jr. 

1827. 

This year Messrs. Joseph C. Stinson, Jonathan E. Webb, 
and Stephen Babbidge, Jr. were chosen selectmen. The 
following sums were voted : S736.80 for schools, $750 for 
town charges and support of poor, and S 1,000 for high- 
ways and bridges. It was voted not to impose a tax on 
dogs, and twenty cents to soldiers on duty once a year. 
At the election in September Rev. Abijah Wines was 
elected representative, having sixty-two votes to eleven 
for Joseph C. Stinson, seven for Stephen Babbidge, seven 
for David Thurlow, and one each for Stephen Babbidge, 



242 --^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Jr. and Peter Hardy, Jr. There was an article in the 
warrant for a town meeting on the same day, to see if the 
town would pay a bounty on foxes, which did not pass. 

1828. 

This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Stephen Babbidge, 
and Nathan Low were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$700 was voted for town charges and support of poor, 
$1,000 for highways and bridges, and $736.80 for schools. 
Captain David Thurlow was elected representative, having 
fifty-four votes to four for Nathan Low and two for 
Stephen Babbidge. 

1829. 

This year Messrs. Nathan Low, Daniel Johnson, and 
William Babbidge were chosen selectmen, and the follow- 
ing sums were voted : $500 for town charges and support 
of the poor, $1,000 for highways and bridges, $736.80 for 
schools. It was voted to pass over the article respecting 
militia rations, and to have the town orders on interest 
taken up by the treasurer. At the annual election in 
September John P. Johnson, Esq. was elected representa- 
tive upon the fourth ballot, having fifty-three votes to 
forty-four for Michael Small. 

1830. 

This year the board of selectmen for the previous year 
was reelected, and it was voted that the treasurer issue 
warrants against all collectors of taxes prior to 1829, from 
whom there were any moneys due, after giving them sixty 
days' notice. The collectors for 1829 were to have three 
months after they were ordered by the assessors to pay it in, 
after which the treasurer was instructed to issue his warrant 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 243 

for the payment of what was then due, and that of the tax 
for this year one half was to be paid in six months and the 
remainder in one year from the date of the bills. The 
sum of $600 was raised for town charges, S 1,000 for high- 
ways, ^Tyb.^Q for schools, and it was voted that the over- 
seers of the poor sell the poor at auction if they see fit. 
I\Ir. Samuel Webb was elected representative, having 
one hundred and twenty votes to fifty for Mr. Joseph 
Noyes, thirty-seven for Solomon Haskell, seven for Jona- 
than Pressey, and three for other persons who were 
ineligible. 

1831. 

This year Messrs. Stephen Babbidge, Jr., William Bab- 
bidge, and Asa Turner were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
lowing sums were voted : $1,300 for town charges and 
support of the poor, $2,000 for highways and bridges, and 
$900 for schools. It was voted that the selectmen do not 
draw any orders until first knowing that the money was 
collected by the collectors and in the treasury, and that 
the collectors pay in one fourth of their collection in three 
months, one half in six months, and the remainder on or 
before the next April ; if not, a warrant was to be issued 
by the treasurer. Mr. Stephen Babbidge, Jr. was chosen 
representative, having eighty-four votes, Mr. Joseph 
Noyes thirty-five, Avery Fifield twenty-two, Peter Hardy 
ten, and Edward Haskell and Mark Haskell one vote each. 
It was voted that the annual meetings be held on the first 
Monday in March after that time. 

This year the celebrated riot took place at the North- 
west Harbor, and it is proper that a history of its cause 
and consequences should be given. For some two years 
previous there had been in progress a radical reform in 
the minds of a large part of the community all over the 



244 ^^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

country with regard to the use of ardent spirits, as it had 
grown to be an alarming evil ; and to those who do not 
remember those days it would now seem very surprising 
that the habit was then so prevalent, involving conse- 
quences so serious. Almost every man at that time 
made use of spirituous liquors ; drinking was the rule, 
abstinence the exception. The evils so often portrayed 
respecting the degradation, poverty, crime, and distress 
caused by it have not been exaggerated, and we all know 
that it has been a most fruitful theme. In 1829 public 
opinion had become so thoroughly awakened with regard 
to it that a movement was begun for its suppression. 
Societies for the promotion of temperance were formed 
all over the country, and the members were by their 
opponents styled "cold water men." No one who used 
liquor would admit that he made an immoderate use ; 
neither was he a drunkard, but only a " moderate drinker," 
and so freely was it then used on almost all occasions, 
that, had the liquor then been so injurious as it now 
is, a great addition would have been made to the number 
of deaths in the community yearly. The practice was 
indulged in by the clergy as well as the people, and no 
class was exempt from it. No doubt a great deal of mis- 
directed zeal was put into the work, but it was of such 
proportions that it called for the efforts of every one who 
had the welfare of the community at heart. Many who 
had been in the habit of its use abandoned it and became 
temperance people for a while at least, and although some 
returned to its practice, many held out ever after. Com- 
paring the state of public opinion of the present day with 
that of those times, a great change has been wrought, as 
is visible to those whose recollection enables them to have 
a knowledge of those days. Previous to that time the 



TOll^iV OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 245 

laws of this State empowered the selectmen, clerks, and 
treasurers of towns, to grant licenses to such persons as 
they judged proper for the retailing of liquor. The sum 
paid for such licenses was put into the town treasury. 
The selectmen also had power, if in their judgment any 
person was intemperate, to make out a list of such and 
post it up in the shops of all persons engaged in retailing 
liquor, forbidding the sale of it to the persons named. If 
the order was disregarded, the seller laid himself liable to 
a fine, and his license to be taken from him. The prac- 
tice was styled " posting," and it was considered by those 
subjected to it a great disgrace. Within my own recol- 
lection I have seen several of such lists put up in such 
places. After the change in public opinion the law of 
licenses was repealed and many abandoned the traffic, but 
some still kept on, and it was several years before it 
ceased entirely in this town. This year a complaint was 
made to a justice of the peace against two persons for 
illegal sale, a warrant was granted and arrests made in 
each case, and when the day of trial came, a large crowd 
of those whose sympathies were upon the side of liquor 
gathered ; a drum was beaten and a swivel was fired 
during the time of the trial, which resulted in the convic- 
tion of the persons complained of, who paid their fines 
with the costs accrued. After the close of the trial the 
complainant and his friends left the place where it was 
held (the store of Pearl Spofford, Esq.), and when he went 
into the street he was knocked down by one of the rioters, 
but his friends surrounded him and conveyed him to a 
place of safety, where he remained till night, when he was 
escorted home. A warrant was afterward procured for 
the arrest of three persons, including one of the j^orsons 
convicted of illegal sales, for a participation in the riot, 



246 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

and they were carried to Castine, where an examination 
was had. They were bound over to the court, and at its 
term the grand jury failed to find a bill, which might not 
have been the case had the occurrence happened a few 
years later. For many years the complainant, who 
was a very worthy man, was the subject of a very strong 
prejudice on the part of those who were not friendly to 
temperance. 

1832. 

This year a meeting was held on the sixth day of Feb- 
ruary, at which a committee was chosen to remonstrate to 
the Legislature against the removal of the courts from 
Castine to Ellsworth, and John P. Johnson, David Angell, 
and Solomon Haskell were chosen, by whom a remon- 
strance was drafted. At the annual meeting Messrs. 
William Webb, Robert Campbell, and Asa Turner were 
chosen selectmen. The following sums were voted : 
$1,300 for town charges, $1,000 for highways and bridges, 
and $900 for support of schools ; and a vote was passed, 
authorizing the selectmen to grant licenses for the sale of 
liquors, and also one for the limits of the company com- 
manded by Captain Ignatius Haskell, 3d. At the election 
in September, on the third ballot, Henry Wilson, Esq. 
was elected representative, having 63 votes to 49 for 
Robert Campbell and 7 for Asa Turner. 

1833- 
This year Messrs. William Webb, Peter Hardy, and 
Henry Wilson were chosen selectmen. The following 
sums were raised : $600 for town charges and support of 
the poor, $900 for support of schools, and $1,000 for 
repairs of highways and bridges. At the election in 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 247 

September Captain Peter Hardy was elected representa- 
tive, having y6 votes to 54 for Jonathan Pressey and 
5 for M. Wilson. 

1834. 

The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
elected; S 1,000 was the sum voted for town charges and 
support of poor, $900 for support of schools, and S 1,000 
for highways and bridges. At the election in September, 
on the fifth ballot, Richard Warren, Esq. was elected 
representative, having 105 votes to 45 for Mr. Andrew 
Small. 

1835- 
This year Messrs. William Webb, Joshua Pressey, and 
Edward Small were chosen selectmen, and S 1,000 was 
voted for payment of town charges and support of poor, 
$900 for schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. 
Avery Fifield, Esq. was elected representative, having j6 
votes to 48 for Richard Warren, Esq., 6 for Jonathan 
E. Webb, Esq., 2 for John Turner, Esq., and i for Mr. 
Samuel Small, Jr. 

1836. 

The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
chosen; S 1,000 was the sum voted for town charges and 
support of poor, $900 for schools, and $1,500 for highways 
and bridges. The town voted against the sale of ardent 
spirits. Joseph C. Stinson, Esq. was chosen representa- 
tive, having 84 votes ; William S. Green, 40 ; Samuel 
Small, Jr., 13 ; Joi-fithan E. Webb, Esq., 16; Peter Hardy, 
2, and J. Sellers, 3d, i vote. Upon the question of the 
shire town which was before the meeting, there were 
given for Castine 145 votes, and for Bluehill i. 



248 ^N HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1837- 
This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Peter Hardy, and 
Richard Warren were chosen selectmen. The follow- 
ing sums were voted : ^800 for town charges, ^900 for 
schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. This year 
the surplus revenue was divided among the towns in the 
State by the Legislature, and it was voted to receive this 
town's share. Captain Peter Hardy was chosen to 
receive it from the treasurer of the State, and to conform 
to all the requirements of the act which shall be obliga- 
tory upon the town ; and he was also required to give 
bonds for the faithful discharge of his trust. It was also 
voted to choose five trustees to manage the said money, 
and Messrs. Edward Small, Avery Fifield, Stephen Bab- 
bidge. Pearl Spofford, and Robert Campbell were chosen, 
who were not to loan more than the sum of $300 to any 
one person ; and the town was authorized to borrow a sum 
not over $1,000 nor less than $700, to be applied for the 
payment of the debts of the town, and pay interest on 
same, and the interest on said moneys was to be appro- 
priated for the support of schools. In May two persons 
were chosen trustees in the places of Messrs. Stephen 
Babbidge and Robert Campbell, who had declined, and 
Messrs. Peter Hardy and Samuel Whitmore were chosen. 
At the election in September, upon the third ballot. Cap- 
tain Jacob Carlton was elected representative, having 
130 votes to 98 for Jonathan E. Webb, Esq., and 16 for 
Mr. William S. Green. 

1838. 

This year Messrs. John P. Johnson, Joseph C. Stinson, 
and John Turner, 2d, were chosen selectmen, and $500 
was voted for town charges and support of poor, $900 for 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 249 

schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges ; also the 
sum of $872.76 for the money borrowed from the surplus 
fund, and said fund was voted " to be divided among the 
inhabitants of the town per capita.'' At the annual elec- 
tion Captain Peter Hardy was elected representative, 
having 200 votes to 186 for Solomon Haskell, Esq., and 
4 for Jonathan E. Webb, Esq. ; and at a town meeting 
held upon the same day, on the proposition to set off 
what is now the town of Isle au tlaut into a separate 
town, it was passed by a unanimous vote. 

1839. 
This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Richard Warren, 
and Joshua Pressey were chosen selectmen, and the sum 
of $800 was voted for town charges and support of poor, 
$900 for schools, and $1,400 for highways and bridges. 
Samuel Whitmore, Esq. was elected representative upon 
the second ballot, having 158 votes to 137 for Jonathan 
E. Webb, Esq. 

1840. 

This year the board of selectmen for the previous year 
was elected, and $800 was voted for town charges and sup- 
port of the poor, $900 for schools, and $1,000 for highways 
and bridges. It was voted to pass a by-law to prevent 
any persons from playing ball in the highways. It 
was also voted to hold the persons who took the census 
for the distribution of the surplus fund accountable for all 
omissions in their respective lists. At the election in 
September, Captain William Webb was elected represen- 
tative, having 235 votes to 198 for Captain David Haskell. 

1 84 1 . 
This year Messrs. William Webb, William Babbidge, 
and George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen ; the sum 



250 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



of $1,250 was voted for town charges, $1,100 for schools, 
and $1,000 for highways and bridges. At the election in 
September, William S. Green, Esq. was elected represen- 
tative, having 173 votes to 128 for S. G. Pressey, David 
Haskell, 20, A. A. Herrick, 4, and Samuel Small, i. 
Upon the question of reducing the number of represen- 
tatives to 151, it was voted Yes. At a town meeting upon 
the same day, it was voted that the town meetings should 
be held at the meeting-house near the house of Richard 
Warren, Esq., by 138 in the affirmative to 103 in the 

negative. 

1842. 

This year Messrs. Ignatius Small, George L. Hosmer, 
and Charles Eaton were chosen selectmen. It was 
voted that the selectmen might hire a suitable man to 
assess the taxes. The sum of $1,200 was voted for town 
charges and support of the poor, 31,140 for schools, and 
$2,500 for highways, etc. It was also voted that the over- 
seers of the poor be instructed to contract with some 
suitable person, or persons, for the maintenance of the 
poor, for a reasonable compensation for any term of years 
not exceeding five, and require bonds for the same. In 
conformity with the said vote, said overseers made a con- 
tract with Mr. Edward Small for said support for five 
years, for the sum of S485 yearly, he paying no expense of 
paupers out of the town and none until their delivery to 
him. This year an attempt was made, in consequence of 
some alleged mistake in the copy of the warrant for the 
meeting, to choose the officers that were by law required 
to be chosen at the annual meeting, and in the place of 
such as had been chosen at the said meeting. A number 
of persons assembled at the time and place named for the 
purpose, under a warrant from a justice of the peace, the 



TOWN 01^ DEER ISLE, MAINE. 25 I 

selectmen having refused to call said meeting. Officers 
were then and there chosen, but said officers did not 
attempt to act. At the election in September Captain 
Asa Turner was elected representative, having 162 votes 
to 83 for Jonathan E. Webb, Esq. ; Joseph Weed, Jr., 3 ; 
John Turner, i ; William S. Green, 2 ; James Saunders, 2, 
and 3 were blanks. 

1843. 
This year Messrs. Richard Warren, William Webb, and 
George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen, and $1,140 was 
the sum voted for schools; $1,000 for town expenses; 
$350 for payment of surplus fund, and $1,400 for high- 
ways. Avery Fifield was elected representative, having 
91 votes, besides 29 on Isle au Haut, which was organ- 
ized so to have the privilege of voting separately for state 
and county officers and Members of Congress. Samuel 
Small, Jr. had 34 ; David Haskell, 38 ; Michael H. Pres- 
sey, 2 ; and Crowell H. Sylvester, i vote. 

1844. 
This year Messrs. Joseph Sellers, 3d, Amos A. Herrick, 
and Abijah Haskell were elected selectmen; $1,140 was 
voted for schools ; $1,000 for current expenses; S264 for 
payment of money borrowed of the surplus-revenue fund ; 
and S 1,000 for highways and bridges. It was also voted 
that the future meetings be held at the Northwest Harbor. 
In April a town meeting was held for the purpose of tak- 
ing into consideration the building of a Town House. It 
was voted to build one, and the sum of S400 was raised 
toward the purpose. The next annual election was held 
in said house. In September Cai)tain John Gray was 
elected representative, having 257 votes to 190 for 
John Torrey. 



252 ^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1845. 

This year Messrs. Peter Hardy, Jr., Levi Weed, and 
George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen; $1,140 was 
raised for schools ; $1,200 for town expenses; and $1,200 
for highways, $75 to be used for the repair of the bridge 
over Tyler's Milldam. Mr. William Babbidge was elected 
representative, having 1 19 votes, 83 for Mr. Joseph Sellers, 
2d, Hale Powers, 11, and Peter Hardy, Jr. and M. H. 
Pressey i each. 

1846. 

This year Messrs. Henry A. Noyes, Michael H. Pressey, 
and George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen; $1,140 
was the sum voted for schools; $1,200, for current 
expenses; $1,500 for highways and bridges; and $150 
for the Town House. Mr. Samuel Small, Jr. was elected 
representative, he having upon the fourth balloting 133 
votes to 50 for Franklin Closson, Esq. ; 42 for William 
Haskell ; 9 for Ambrose C. Gordon ; 5 for William Stinson, 
Jr., and i for William S. Green. At a town meeting on 
the same day it was voted to choose a new board of trustees 
for the surplus-revenue fund, and George L. Hosmer, 
Samuel Whitmore, Benjamin F. Ferguson, Edward Small, 
and Michael H. Pressey were chosen. 

1847. 
' This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Benjamin F. 
Ferguson, and Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen ; 
$1,140 was the sum voted for schools, $1,300 for current 
expenses, $1,500 for highways and bridges, and $100 to be 
expended upon the Town House. William S. Green was 
chosen as a member of the board of trustees of the sur- 
plus-revenue fund in place of Michael H. Pressey, who 



TOIVJV OF DEEK ISLE, MA LYE. 253 

declined. Solomon Haskell, Esq. was elected representa- 
tive, having 83 votes to 79 for John Thompson, and 3 
for William E. Powers. 

1848. 

This year Messrs. Samuel Small, Jr., Benjamin F. Fer- 
guson, and Gideon Hatch were elected selectmen ; $1,500 
was raised for town charges and support of the poor, the 
same amount for highways and bridges, and '$1,140 for 
schools. In September Charles A. Spofford, Esq. was 
elected representative, having 136 votes to 113 for Benja- 
min Raynes and 15 for Hale Powers. At a meeting held 
the same day a committee of three, to wit, Messrs. 
Thomas Saunders, Solomon Haskell, and Pearl Spofford, 
Esq., was chosen to settle with John P. Johnson for a 
right of way through his sawmill, and that the town make 
all necessary repairs in order to make said way safe for 
travel. 

1849. 

This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Levi Babbidge, and 
Franklin Closson were chosen selectmen; $1,600 was 
voted for current e.xpenses, $1,140 for schools, and $1,200 
for highways and bridges. The wages of men for labor 
on the roads was fixed at I2>^ cents per hour; for boys in 
proportion, according to what it was worth ; for o.xen 
from 8 to 12 cents, and plows from 33 cents to $1 per day. 
The selectmen were to designate the several school dis- 
tricts by numbers, as they had before been known by local 
names, and the selectmen were authorized to sell lands 
that had become forfeited to the town for non-payment of 
taxes. John Turner, Esq. was elected representative, 
having 115 votes; Henry Lufkin, 90; Samuel E. Powers, 
21, and N. W. Sawyer, 2. On the question of changing the 
time of meeting of the Legislature from May to January, 



254 ^-^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

there were 134 votes in the affirmative to 39 in the 
negative. 

1S50. 

This year Messrs. Franklin Closson, George L. Hosmer, 
and Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
32,000 was voted for current expenses, $1,140 for schools, 
and $1,200 for highways and bridges. Henry A. Xoyes, 
Esq. was elected representative, having 114 votes to 
82 for John Thompson ; Samuel E. Powers, 9 ; William 
S. Green, 4, and Albion Haskell, Ignatius Haskell, 
William H. H. Spofford, and Nathan W. Sawyer, i each. 

1S51. 
This year Messrs. Samuel Small, Franklin Closson, and 
Aaron B. Raynes were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$1,700 was voted for current expenses, $1,221 for schools, 
and $1,200 for highways and bridges. It was voted to 
give the surveyors of highways warrants of distress, and 
the selectmen were instructed to prosecute, in behalf of 
the inhabitants of the town, for the sale of intoxicating 
liquors contrary to law. This year no representative was 
elected, as no election was held in September. 

1852. 
This year Messrs. William Webb, F. P. Spofford, and 
Aaron B. Raynes were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$1,700 was voted for current expenses, 81,215 for schools, 
and $1,000 for highways, which last sum was to be 
separately assessed, and in case any person did not work 
out or pay his tax during the municipal year the same 
was to be committed to the collector. It was also voted 
to instruct the assessors to tax personal property that had 
been conveved as collateral security and held in other 



TOIVN OF DEER IS/.E, MAINE. 255 

towns, namely, owners of interests in vessels who have the 
control and earnings of the same, although they have no 
bill of sale. William Webb was elected representativ^e, 
having 113 votes to 63 for F. A. S. Colby, 17 for William 
E. Powers, 14 for A. C. Gordon, 2 for Franklin Closson, 
and I each for Thomas Dow and John Thompson. 

1853- 

This year Messrs. F. P. Spofford, A. B. Raynes, and 
Seth Whitmore were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$1,215 '^^'^s voted for schools, 81,700 for current expenses, 
and $1,000 for highways and bridges. Samuel Smith was 
elected representative, having 79 votes, William F. Collins 
74, Thomas T. Low 32, William Stinson, 14, William Bab- 
bidge, I. At a town meeting held on the same day of the 
annual election, an article was acted upon relative to the 
v'ote passed the year previous in regard to vessel property, 
but the town instructed the assessors to adhere to the vote 
of the previous year. 

1854. 

This year Messrs. William Webb, F. P. Spofford, and 
Aaron Babbidge were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$1,700 was raised for current expenses, $1,525 for the 
support of schools, and $1,500 for highways and bridges. 
It was voted that the selectmen contract with some person 
to vaccinate the inhabitants of the town for the purpose 
of protection from the smallpox, and the sum of $25 
was voted for the purpose. Captain Benjamin Raynes 
was elected rejiresentative, having 131 votes to 92 for 
Benjamin S. Wood, and 31 for Nathan Low, Jr. 

1855. 
This year Messrs. Henry A. Noyes, Jeremiah Hatch, 
Jr., and Amos Howard were chosen selectmen. The sum 



256 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

of ^1,700 was raised for current expenses, $1,525 for the 
support of schools, and $1,000 for repairs of highways and 
bridges. It was voted that the poor be kept in the house 
on the Weed Farm, now owned by the town, and that the 
overseers of the poor be vested with the requisite author- 
ity to carry the same into effect. Benjamin F. Stinson, 
of Swan's Island, was elected representative, having 162 
votes to 134 for Solomon Barbour, and i for David 
Pressey. 

1856. 

This year Messrs. William Webb, Frederick P. Spofford, 
and Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$1,525 was voted for schools, $2,800 for current expenses 
and support of the poor, and $1,200 for repair of highways 
and bridges. It was voted that if any damage should 
happen on the highway in consequence of the negligence 
of the surveyors, the selectmen were instructed to proceed 
with them according to law. It was also voted to instruct 
the overseers of the poor to make sufficient accommoda- 
tions at the poorhouse for the paupers, and to bind out all 
paupers that they have a chance to. Charles A. Spofford, 
Esq. was elected representative, having 207 votes to 176 
for James Turner, 2d, and 17 for Joshua H. Sellers. 

1857. 
This year Messrs. Franklin Closson, Thomas Warren, 
and Benjamin S. Wood were chosen selectmen. The 
following sums were voted : $2,500 for current expenses, 
$1,525 for schools, $1,200 for repairs of highways and 
bridges, and $100 of the sum raised for current expenses 
was to be appropriated for the road leading to Babbidge's 
Neck, which road was changed to its present location. 
Mr. William Babbidge was elected representative, but the 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA/XE. 257 

records do not show how many votes were cast for the 
several candidates. 

1858. 

The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
reelected. The following sums were voted : $1,809 ^or 
support of schools, $2,500 for current expenses, and 
$1,200 for highways and bridges. It was voted to finish a 
room in the Town House for the use of the selectmen, etc. 
In June there was a meeting to act upon the license law 
of 1856. In its favor were 11, and against it 51, votes. 
At the election in September William S. Green, Esq. 
was elected representative, having 225 votes to 171 for 
T. B. Pickering. 

1859. 

This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Levi B. Crockett, 
and George C. Hardy were chosen selectmen. The 
following sums were voted : $1,809 ^^^ schools, $2,500 for 
current expenses, and $1,200 for highways and bridges, 
besides $50 in cash to be expended upon the road from 
near the house of William E. Knight to Nathan Low's 
house, and $100 for the road leading from land of Samuel 
Small toward Green's Landing. At the election in Sep- 
tember, Mr. Ebenezer Joyce, of Swan's Island, was 
elected representative, having 135 votes to 134 for 
Franklin Closson, Esq. It was voted to accept the 
bridge leading on to Babbidge's Neck, which had been 
built about thirteen years by individuals, the greater part 
by Samuel Whitmore, Esq., as a public way, and the sum 
of SJ-5 ^vas voted for repairs of same. 

i860. 
The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
chosen. The following sums were voted : $2,500 for 



258 ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

current expenses, $1,820 for schools, $1,200 for highways 
and bridges, $100 for the purchase of two iron safes for 
the use of the selectmen and treasurer, and $25 in cash 
for repair of a road. The use of the town landing on Isle 
au Haut was granted to Captain John Kempton. It was 
also voted that no abatement of taxes be made to any 
person who might neglect to bring in a list of his property 
to the assessors according to law, unless he was unable 
to do so by absence. Mr. Ignatius Small was elected 
representative, having 243 votes to 176 for F. M. Holden, 
and ij for A. C. Gordon. 

1861. 

This year Messrs. Henry A. Noyes, Ambrose C. Gor- 
don and David T. Warren, were elected selectmen. The 
sum of $2,154 was voted for schools, $2,500 for current 
expenses, and $1,500 for highways and bridges. On the 
eighteenth of May a meeting was held at which it was 
voted that the selectmen and treasurer be instructed to 
furnish reasonable and necessary assistance to the families 
of such of the volunteers from the town in the service of 
the United States as may need it ; that they be author- 
ized to borrow upon the credit of the town a sum neces- 
sary for the purpose not exceeding $2,000, and that a sum 
not exceeding $2.50 per month be allowed for each mem- 
ber of the families, to commence at the date of the enlist- 
ment. In September Thomas Warren, Esq. was elected 
representative, having 227 votes to 3 for other persons. 

1862. 

This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Ambrose C. 
Gordon; and John Robbins were elected selectmen. The 
following sums were voted : $2,500 for current expenses, 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 



259 



$1,500 for schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. 
It was voted that the vote of the previous year respecting 
aid to families of volunteers, to furnish aid to such as in 
the judgment of the selectmen needed the same, be passed, 
and that the sum so furnished to any one family should not 
exceed $10 per month. It was provided further that the 
volunteer whose family applies for assistance shall, when 
practicable, send to his family the sum of $10 monthly, 
and that the town orders for such aid be payable in eight 
months from their dates. At a meeting held July 26, it 
was voted to pay a bounty of $100 to each volunteer who 
might be accepted by the United States, and that the 
treasurer be instructed to borrow, upon the credit of the 
town, a sum sufficient for such purpose and interest ; that 
any person who might loan money for the purpose, if such 
sum should exceed his tax, the excess should be paid with 
interest, and a receipt from the treasurer should be 
evidence of the sum loaned. On the 30th of August the 
town voted that the sum of $100 be paid to each person 
who entered the service as a drafted person, or as a sub- 
stitute for any person drafted. The selectmen were 
instructed to borrow, upon the credit of the town, a sum 
sufficient, with interest, for the purpose ; and a committee 
of three, namely, Charles A. Spofford, Thomas Warren, 
and F. M. Holden, was chosen to negotiate for, and pro- 
vide, volunteers ; also, that the selectmen be instructed 
to provide them with means for the purpose. This year 
William S. Green, Esq. was elected representative, having 
132 votes to 81 for Seth Webb, and i vote each for William 
Webb and Henry A. Noyes. At a town meeting on the 
day of the September election, the sum of $1,000 was 
voted for the payment of expenses incurred for support 
of families of volunteers up to the i8th of March, 1S62, 



26o ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

and that all orders drawn for said support after said 
date be made payable in six months, interest after. The 
sum of $2,000 was voted for payment of supplies of the 
latter class ; also, that the said sums be assessed and 
committed to the collectors of taxes and to be paid 
before the first day of March, 1863. 

1863. 

This year Messrs. William Webb, A. C. Gordon, and 
Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen. The following 
sums were voted : $2,500 for current expenses, $2,156 for 
schools, $2,000 for the support of families of volunteers, 
$2,000 for the purpose of payment of bounties to volun- 
teers and substitutes. The selectmen were instructed to 
borrow of citizens of the town a sum in addition, to pay 
the money due, borrowed out of town, with interest, and 
one year's interest of what was borrowed in the town ; 
that the sum now raised be assessed as a tax separate from 
the state, county, and town taxes. The sum of $1,000 
was raised for highways and bridges. At the election in 
September SuUivan Green, Esq. was elected representa- 
tive, having 322 votes to 147 for Daniel L. Carlton. 
At a town meeting it was voted to pay $100 to every 
drafted man who might be accepted by the United States. 
On the 28th of November a vote was passed to pay a 
bounty to each volunteer or drafted man who might 
procure a substitute, who should be credited to the 
town, or those who might enter the naval service and 
be so credited ; that the selectmen be authorized to 
borrow upon the credit of the town on the most favor- 
able terms that they might be able ; that said bounty 
be paid when the person receiving it entered the service 
and was placed to the credit of the town. The selectmen 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 26 I 

were instructed to call a meeting when they should 
ascertain what the exigencies of the case might require. 
At a town meeting by request of the citizens of the 
town, on the thirtieth day of December, it was voted 
to instruct the treasurer of the town to borrow, on the 
most favorable terms as to time of payment and interest^ 
the sum necessary to pay the bounties referred to in the 
vote at the last town meeting, on the same conditions of 
entering the service and being placed to the credit of the 
town. The number was not to exceed the number 
required of the town under the last call. A committee 
of three was chosen, to wit, Messrs. Sylvanus G. Haskell, 
town treasurer, A. C. Gordon, and F. M. Holden, to pro- 
cure volunteers or substitutes, and the last named were 
instructed to borrow money (in case the treasurer should 
neglect to do so) in order to carry out the instructions 
given said treasurer, and that the town be bound to abide 
by their doings in the matter. Also the sum of $50 was 
voted to each person not an inhabitant of the town who 
shall enlist and be credited to this town. A vote was 
passed giving each drafted man or his substitute, or volun- 
teer, under the last call for three hundred thousand men, 
who should be placed to the quota of the town either in 
the land or naval service, the sum of $300, not to exceed 
the number of said quota. The treasurer was instructed 
to borrow a sum sufficient for the purpose. At a meeting 
in January, 1864, the milldam was purchased of John P. 
Johnson, as a town road, for the sum of S475. It was 
voted to build a bridge across the place where the mill 
formerly stood. The committee for the purpose was 
Messrs. M. H. Lufkin, David Haskell, Nathan Low, 
H. T. Lufkin, and A. J. Beck. They were to make a plan 
of a permanent bridge, to let the job out to some 



262 ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

responsible person, or persons, by contract, and in the 
meantime to cause a temporary bridge to be put up. 

1864. 

This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Charles A. Spof- 
ford, and William Torrey were elected selectmen. The 
following sums were voted : $2,800 for current expenses, 
$2,156 for schools, $1,500 for aid to families of volunteers 
and drafted men, $2,500 for interest and for payment of 
the town debt, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. A 
new valuation was directed to be taken, and there was a 
vote directing the selectmen to sell the mill privilege, 
remove the stone, and sell the building at auction. A vote 
was also passed forbidding the sale of firecrackers, and 
for the payment of Daniel W. Low and Mark T. Low 
$100 each as a compensation for having put each a substi- 
tute into the army for three years, and the same were 
credited to the quota of the town. On the twentieth day 
of August a meeting was held ; it was voted to pay $25 
for the expense of recruiting each person entering the 
land or naval service, and placed to the credit of the town, 
or for each volunteer so entering. The selectmen were to 
act as agents in filling the quota, and, if necessary, to 
appoint assistants. Benjamin F. Ferguson, Esq. was 
elected representative, having 218 votes to 121 for M. H. 
Lufkin. On the sixth day of October a town meeting 
was held. It was voted to pay to each person entering 
the service of the United States, toward filling the 
quota of the town under the last call of the President 
for troops, the sum of $300, and that notes for said sum 
be issued by the selectmen, payable in one year with 
interest. On the eighth day of November, it was voted 
to instruct the treasurer to hire such a sum of money as 



TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, MA EYE. 263 

might be necessary to pay the notes that had become due, 
upon demand of the holders, upon the most favorable 
terms as to time and interest. It was also voted to in- 
struct the selectmen not to give any person a note for a 
larger sum than was paid for a substitute. 

1865. 

The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
chosen ; $3,600 was the sum raised for current expenses, 
$2,157 for schools, $1,000 for highways and bridges, and 
$750 for payment of enlisting-fees ; $100 was voted to 
Joel H. Powers and the same to Charles H. Martin for 
entering the service as drafted men in 1863. It was 
voted to instruct the selectmen and treasurer to issue 
bonds for the sum of $300 to each person entitled to the 
same, with interest redeemable in fifteen years, with cou- 
pons for interest semi-annually at six per cent. Said 
bonds were issued in sums of $300 and $100 for those 
persons who entered the service under the call in July, 
1864, for five hundred thousand men, and the call in 
December for three hundred thousand men. In conform- 
ity with said vote the selectmen and treasurer issued 
bonds to the amount of $30,000, which were paid to the 
persons entitled to receive them. The treasurer "was 
instructed to borrow a sufficient sum to pay the notes 
given to those entering service by themselves as volun- 
teers, or drafted men, or by their substitutes," which 
notes were given up by the holders upon the receipt of 
the bonds in exchange. 

This year closed the war. The total expense of the 
town for war purposes was $59,128, or about one fifth of 
the value of the property as by the valuation of the 
assessors, and one sixth as fixed by the state valuation ; 



264 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

perhaps nearly as much more was paid by private individ- 
uals for substitutes ; in some cases under the last calls 
$600 was paid. It left us with a heavy debt in proportion 
to our valuation, which was small in proportion to our 
population. By the census of i860 the population was 
3,592 — a much larger proportion, compared with our 
property, than most other towns in the county. Quite a 
large proportion of the debt was paid by exchange of 
state for town bonds. The amount received from the 
State was $22,400. The whole number of men credited 
to the town was 314 at a cost of $208 for each recruit. 
The following-named persons, residents here, were either 
killed or died in the service : — 

John S. Gray. John L. Harris. 

Charles Gray. Caleb Harris. 

Solomon Gray. Isaiah V. Eaton. 

George Spaulding. William S. Toothaker. 

Alva Emerson. Farnham Haskell. 

Harlan P. Powers. Nathaniel Robbins, 2d. 

Albion P. Stinson. Otis S. Greenlaw. 

Solomon Stinson. Alexander Henderson. 

Alfred M. Robbins. John Henderson. 
Hezekiah H. Robbins. 

In all, nineteen persons. Several others returned with 
constitutions seriously impaired. 

At a meeting, April 12, an additional sum of $539 was 
voted for support of schools, and at one held June 18 it 
was voted to issue bonds to such persons who procured 
substitutes up to March 5. Another matter was acted 
upon which is proper here to explain. During the early 
part of the present year some persons contributed the 
sum of $28 each to raise a fund to procure substitutes, 
and among them were some who did not pass examination 



TOlViV OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 265 

with the surgeon, while others went into the service or 
put in substitutes. Those who were rejected by the sur- 
geon applied to the town for repayment on that ground, 
and the town at said meeting voted to pay said sum to 
such persons who put into the service substitutes or vol- 
unteers and had not received the sum they paid back 
again. Thus they rejected the claims of those who did 
not pass examination, as it was not in conformity with any 
vote of the town that the sum was raised by the persons, 
but was on their part a voluntary act. Any one was for- 
tunate who escaped with no greater loss ; but as usual in 
such cases, the persons who were thus relieved of liability 
to service could not view it in such a light. At the elec- 
tion in September Mr. Ambrose C. Gordon was elected 
representative, having 139 votes to 91 for H. T. Carman, 
and at a meeting on the same day the sum of $1,800 
was raised for payment of interest on bonds. 

1866. 

This year Messrs. William Webb, Thomas S. Fifield, and 
John Thompson were chosen selectmen. The sum by law 
required was voted for schools, being seventy-five cents 
per inhabitant ; 56,ooo was voted for current expenses and 
interest on bonds, $1,700 was raised for the drafted men 
who furnished substitutes or entered the service them- 
selves, the sum of $25 each to those persons who had not 
received such sum under a former vote for enlistment ex- 
penses, provided that each person had received a town note 
for $300, and it was not to be paid until said note was 
exchanged for a town bond. The same was voted to pay 
such persons as had paid commutation-money, and $775 
was raised for the purpose. At the election in Septem- 
ber Captain Levi B. Crockett was elected representative, 
having 182 votes to 1 14 votes for Joseph Saunders. 



266 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

1867. 

This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Ignatius Small, 
and John Thompson were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
lowing sums were voted : $8,000 for current expenses 
and interest, $2,696 for schools, for the repair of highways 
and bridges the sum of $1,500 in labor and $500 in cash. 
At a meeting on June 3, a vote was had upon the act for 
the suppression of " drinking-houses and tippling-shops." 
Thirty-nine votes were in favor and two in the negative- 
Mr. John Stockbridge, of Swan's Island, was elected rep- 
resentative, having 152 votes to 74 for William H. Reed. 



This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Ignatius Small, 
and A. C. Gordon were chosen selectmen. The follow- 
ing sums were voted : $4,500 for current expenses, $1,000 
toward the town debt, $2,000 for interest, $1,500 in labor 
on highways, $100 for purchase of material for bridges, 
and $2,696 for schools, and to all persons who paid their 
tax before the first day of August, six per cent, discount, 
and nothing after that date. George L. Hosmer was 
elected representative, having 351 votes to 184 for Stephen 
D. Higgins. Upon the amendment to the Constitution 
authorizing " a limited reimbursement of war expenses by 
loaning the credit of the State," there were 536 votes in 
the affirmative to none in the negative. 

1869. 

This year Messrs. William Webb, Henry A. Noyes, and 
Richard Warren were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$4,000 was voted for support of the poor and payment of 
town charges, $2,000 for interest, $3,595 for schools, 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 267 

$1,500 for highways and bridges, also $1,000 toward pay- 
ment of the town debt. It was also voted to purchase the 
Town Hall in the Masonic building for a town house and 
selectmen's office, and sell in exchange, as far as it would 
go, the present Town House, provided the same could be 
done on fair and equitable terms. This vote was not 
carried into effect. At the election in September Mr. 
Samuel W. Campbell was elected representative, having 
140 votes to 52 for James Turner, 2d, 6^ for Stephen D. 
Higgins, and 20 for Jonathan Eaton. At a meeting 
upon the day of the annual election, the vote respecting 
the purchase of a part of the Masonic Hall was before it, 
and was passed over. 

1870. 

This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, William Small, 
and George C. Hardy, were chosen selectmen. The 
following sums were voted : $5,000 for current expenses, 
$3,592 for schools, $1,200 for interest, $[,000 to be paid 
upon the town debt, $200 in cash on a road from Aaron 
Babbidge's to William Dunham's, $175 for shingling the 
Town House, and $1,500 for highways, but such persons 
who might work out their taxes before July 4, it should be 
credited to them on the tax, and the balance was to be 
paid in money. The treasurer was instructed to obtain 
the state bonds and exchange them, according to a pre- 
vious vote. Mr. Aaron B. Raynes was elected representa- 
tive, having 168 votes to 98 for F. M. Holden, 16 for 
John Smith, 2 for Oliver van Meter, and i for C. H. S 
Webb. 

1S71. 

This year the board of selectmen for 1S70 was chosen. 
The sum of $3,500 was voted for current expenses, 
$3,417 for schools, $1,500 in cash for hi^rhwavs. to be 



268 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

expended under the supervision of commissioners to be 
appointed by the selectmen, and $500 for interest ; besides, 
there was the sum of $200 voted to pay damage to Mr. 
Aaron Babbidge, William Dunham, and Serena M. Thurs- 
ton, for the road leading from Burnt Cove over their lands 
to the Southeast Harbor, and $25 for road damage to 
Clara A. Williams at Green's Landing. Mr. Ebenezer 
S. Fifield was elected representative, having 165 votes 
to 84 for Captain Caleb W. Haskell. 

1872. 

This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, A. C. Gordon, 
and Samuel Judkins were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
lowing sums were voted : $4,000 for current expenses, 
;^4,ooo for schools, $1,000 for interest, and $1,500 for 
highways, to be expended by the following-named persons 
as commissioners : William P. Scott, Andrew S. Trundy, 
and Eben Eaton. It was voted to tax dogs one dollar per 
head. Mr. John Robbins was elected representative, 
having 290 votes to 153 for Mr. William Stinson. 

1873. 
This year Messrs. William Small, Joseph C. Judkins, 
and F. B. Ferguson were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
;^3,ooo was voted for current expenses, and the sum re- 
quired by law for support of schools, $1,000 for interest, 
and $1,500 in labor on the highways. It was voted to 
empower the selectmen to investigate the sales of lands 
belonging to the town and see if any conveyance had been 
fraudulently made. The sum of $200 was raised to be 
expended on the new road from the granite quarry of 
R. Warren & Company, to the main road, and $50 to be 
expended in filling up the channel on the bar leading to 



TOJVX or DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 269 

Little Deer Island. Air. William Babbidge was elected 
representative, having 1 1 1 votes to 54 for Mr. Hardy 
Lane. 

1874- 
This year Messrs. Joseph Saunders, Levi B. Crockett, 
and John Robbins were chosen selectmen. Mr. Saunders 
afterward resigned, and his place was filled by Mr. George 
W. Spofford. The sum of $2,000 was voted for current 
expenses, $2,800 for schools, $1,000 for interest, and 
$3,000 in labor for highways, $500 to be reserved for clear- 
ing them of snow, and $50 for a road leading from near 
the house of John McDonald to the house of Job Goss, 2d. 
On the question of building a new jail at Ellsworth the 
vote was : Yes, none ; No, 148. It was also voted to estab- 
lish two high schools, and the sum of $500 was raised for 
the purpose. George Tolman, Esq. was elected represen- 
tative, having 226 votes to 61 for Samuel Smith, and 26 for 
George L. Hosmer. 

1875. 

This year Messrs. Levi B. Crockett, John Robbins, and 
George L. Hosmer were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
$3,000 was voted for current expenses, $2,550 for schools, 
5500 for high schools, $3,000 in labor on highways, and 
the same sum as the previous year reserved for clearing 
the roads of snow, $1,000 for interest, $25 for a road near 
Mr. Samuel W. Campbell's, and $50 for filling up the chan 
nel on the bar leading to Little Deer Island. Sylvanus 
G. Haskell, Esq. was elected representative, having 296 
votes to Si for David T. Warren, I^sq. 

1876. 
This year Messrs. William Torrey, William Small, and 
Martin \\ B. Green were chosen selectmen. The sum of 



270 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

;^3,ooo was raised for current expenses, $2,500 for schools, 
$500 for a high school, $1,200 for interest, and $1,800 for 
highways and bridges, and the sums remaining due on the 
first day of November were to be committed to the collec- 
tors of taxes to be collected the present year. It was 
voted to exempt the wharf owned by the Bangor and 
Machias Steamboat Company from taxation for ten years. 
Mr. Martin V. Babbidge, of Swan's Island, was elected 
representative, having 268 votes to 173 for A. O. Gross. 

1877. 

This year the board of selectmen for the previous year 
was elected. The following sums were voted : $2,000 
for current expenses, $2,500 for schools, $1,300 for inter- 
est, and $1,800 for highways, and for men's labor twenty 
cents per hour was voted. It was also voted to allow the 
deaf-mutes to draw their school-money for their benefit, to 
be educated at Hartford, Connecticut. Captain Seth 
Webb was elected representative, having 178 votes to 
121 for George M. Warren and 29 for Charles S. Torrey. 
Upon the amendment to the Constitution providing that 
no person should vote unless he had paid a tax within two 
years preceding the election in which he proposes to vote : 
the vote stood : Yes, 36 ; No, in; and with regard to the 
provision limiting municipal debts the vote was : Yes, 147. 

1878. 

This year Messrs. Martin V. B. Green, A. C. Gordon, 
and Moses S. Joyce were chosen selectmen. The follow- 
ing sums were voted : $1,000 for current expenses, $2,500 
for schools, $1,500 for interest, $1,500 in labor on high- 
ways and bridges. Charles A. Russ, Esq. was elected 
representative, having 168 votes to 157 for Captain 
Benjamin G. Barbour. » 



TO WN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2 ~ I 

1879- 

This year the selectmen for the previous year were 
chosen. The following sums were voted : $2,500, or 
what the law requires, for schools, $1,500 for current 
expenses, $1,200 for interest, and $1,500 for labor on high- 
ways. It was voted to instruct the treasurer to ascertain 
on what terms he might be able to fund the town debt, 
and report at a meeting in September ; also, what part of 
the same would be taken in this town. One hundred and 
fifty dollars were voted as compensation to INIrs. Thomas 
Small for injuries received upon the highway ; that in taking 
the valuation for the present year, all persons were to be 
put under oath. Charles H. S. Webb, Esq. was elected rep- 
resentative, having 221 votes to 169 for Rodney K. Wither- 
spoon. Upon the question of biennial sessions of the 
Legislature the vote stood 93 yeas to 4 in the negative. 

1880. 
This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, Edwin P. Cole, 
and A. C. Gordon were elected selectmen. The sum of 
$2,000 was raised for current expenses, $2,500 for schools, 
$1,000 toward payment of the town debt, $1,200 for 
interest, and $2,000 in labor on the highways and bridges. 
Upon the question of the debt of the town, as the time 
for the payment of the principal upon the bonds issued in 
1865 had arrived, it was voted to issue new bonds with 
coupons, payable semi-annually, not to exceed five per 
cent for interest. Said bonds were to be of the denomi- 
nation of one hundred dollars, payable in ten years from 
March 6, 1880, and were to be exchanged for those out- 
standing ; or, if sold, not to be under their par value. The 
sum of $100 was voted to be expended upon the Ocean- 
ville bridge ; it was also voted to enact a code of by-laws 



272 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

concerning truants and children between the ages of six 
and seventeen years not attending school ; also, ;^50 was 
voted to be expended toward filling up the channel at the 
northern end of the bar leading on to Little Deer Island. 
Captain Seth Webb was elected representative, having 
343 votes to 193 for Moses S. Joyce and one for Martin V. 
Warren. Upon the question of the election of governor 
by a plurality vote, there were in the affirmative 125 to 
184 in the negative. Upon the amendment changing the 
terms of office of senators and representatives, there were 
129 in the affirmative to 168 in the negative. 



This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, George H. How- 
ard and George W. Redman were chosen selectmen. The 
sum of $2,500 was voted for current expenses, ^2,613 for 
schools $1,300 for interest, $200 for repair of the Ocean- 
ville bridge, and $30 for repairs of the road on Greenlaw's 
Neck. This year no election was held in September, as 
the Constitution had been changed. 

1882. 

This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, George H. 
Howard, and W. B. Thurlow were chosen selectmen. 
The sum of $2,000 was voted for current expenses, $2,613 
for schools, $900 for interest, $140 for damages and 
expenses of building a road laid out by the county com- 
missioners at Green's Landing, $29 to compensate Roswell 
P. Davis for damage to his horse by a defect in the town 
road, and $2,000 in labor on highways. It was also voted 
to exempt Preston J. Tarr from taxation upon a gristmill, 
to be built by him at the Northwest Harbor, for ten years. 
Said Tarr had the previous year purchased the mill privi- 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 



/ 3 



lege and dam on condition of the erection and mainte- 
nance of a gristmill, the town retaining the right of 
way and the liability of keeping it in repair for such 
purpose. 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 

Many of the early settlers here were religious people 
and several were members of churches in the places 
whence they came. They felt the deprivation of their 
accustomed privileges very sensibly, and as soon as a suffi- 
cient number could be gathered together, measures were 
taken for the organization of a church. In 1773, upon the 
first day of August, according to the early records of the 
church, it was gathered by Rev. Oliver Noble. The 
church then chose Mr. Thomas Stinson to be their mode- 
rator to call the church together and moderate till another 
be chosen by the brethren. This record was attested by 
Oliver Noble, moderator. 

At a church meeting August 20, 1773, it was unani- 
mously voted that Francis Haskell and Thomas Stinson 
should serve as deacons in the newly erected church on 
Deer Island as occasion shall serve. Nothing more is 
stated in the records with regard to the doings of the 
church, nor have we any knowledge whether they had a 
pastor, or not, until 1785, when a call was given to Rev. 
Peter Powers, dated August 23 of the said year. Accord- 
ing to a vote of the church, the said call and answer 
thereto were recorded in the records of the town. The 
vote referred to was passed October 20, 1791, and the call 
was as follows : — 



2 74 ^-^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

"We, the inhabitants of Deer Island, in the county of 
Lincoln and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having been 
a number of years destitute of the ordinary means of 
grace, are sensible of the supineness, ignorance, etc. 
which prevail among us, and would therefore view it our 
indispensable duty to God, ourselves, and our children, 
cheerfully and willingly to contribute toward the settle- 
ment and support of a gospel minister among us. And 
as we are well satisfied with the qualifications of the Rev. 
Peter Powers, his wisdom, prudence, etc., we, therefore, 
the said inhabitants, do earnestly call and invite him to 
settle with us in the ofhce of the ministry ; to take upon 
him the care of our souls ; to be our guide in the way of 
the gospel truth ; and to be our pastor and teacher in the 
Lord. And in consequence promise that honor and obedi- 
ence enjoined us in the gospel to them who are set over 
us in the Lord. And as it is consistent with the divine 
institution that those who labor in the gospel should live 
of it, we, therefore, the said inhabitants, hereby covenant 
and agree with the Rev. Peter Powers, on his accepting 
this our call, and becoming our teacher, then to give 
to him, his heirs, and assigns forever one hundred acres 
of land on said island, beginning at the easterly line of 
that land called the 'parsonage' and running across half 
the front ; then running back in concurrence with the 
other lines until one hundred acres be included. Also, 
to build him a dwelling-house twenty by thirty-four feet, 
one-story, and finish the same in such manner as such 
buildings are commonly finished in country towns. And 
for yearly salary one hundred pounds, namely, eighty 
pounds in specie at the market price of this place and 
twenty pounds in cash. In witness whereof we have 
hereunto set our hands this twenty-third day of August, 



TOWN OF DEER fSLE, MAINE. 



in the year of our 
eighty-five. 

Francis Haskell. 
Thomas Stinson. 
Mark Haskell. 
George Frees. 
John Frees. 
Belcher Tyler. 
Job Small. 
John Pressey. 
John Hooper. 
Nathaniel Robbins. 
John Frees, Jr. 
Joseph Colby. 
John Pressey, Jr. 
Hezekiah Lane. 
Stephen Babbidge. 
Ignatius Haskell. 
Seth Webb. 
Thomas Warren. 
Elijah Dunham. 
Benjamin Cole. 
Thomas Haskell. 
Joshua Haskell. 
Jeremiah Eaton. 
Andrew Small. 
Benjamin Small. 
Job Small. Jr. 
Samuel Stinson. 
William Stinson. 
Thomas Small. 
Thomas Small, Jr. 
Joseph Whitmore. 
Joseph Dunham. 
Tristram Haskell. 
Ambrose Colby. 
William Greenlaw. 
Elijah Dunliam, Jr. 
Peter Hardy. 
James Saunders. 



Lord one thousand seven hundred and 

Benjamin Rea. 
John Closson. 
William Raynes. 
Josiah Clos.son. 
Johnson Raynes. 
John Raynes. 
William Babbidge. 
Joseph Colby, Jr. 
Thomas Colby. 
Ezekiel Marshall. 
Ezekiel Marshall, Jr. 
Solomon Marshall. 
Joshua Marshall. 
Ezra Howard. 
Joseph Cole. 
Edward Haskell. 
Timothy Saunders. 
Nathaniel Merchant. 
Rolf Annis. 
Benjamin Annis. 
Simon Annis. 
Samuel Trundy. 
Nathaniel Hamblen. 
William Eaton. 
John Thurston. 
Nathan Closson. 
Charles Sellers. 
Lot Curtis. 
Micajah Lunt. 
William Whitmore. 
John Howard. 
Samuel Pickering. 
Abijah Haskell. 
Courtney Babbidge. 
Francis Haskell, Jr. 
Jonatlian Haskell. 
Ephraim .Marshall. 
Nathan Haskell. 



276 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

[answer.] 

Deer Island, September 17, 1785. 
To i/ie ChiircJi of Christ, on Deer Island : — 

Dearly Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, — You having in- 
vited and called me to the pastoral oversight of you in the Lord, and 
it appearing to be of God, after mature deliberation and prayer, I now 
publicly return you my answer in the affirmative. I ask a daily interest 
in your prayers for the gracious fulfilment of that great promise : " Lo, 
I am with you even to the end of the world." Amen. 

To the inhabitants and good people who have concurred with the 
church in the call and liberally offered for my support, I thankfully 
accept it, and promise through the grace of God to serve you all, the 
poor as well as the rich, according to my poor ability. You will, I 
trust, strive together with me in your prayers to God for me that I may 
be enabled to be faithful unto the death, and present you and your dear 
children faultless before the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his 
coming, with unspeakable joy. Finally, brethren, be perfect, be of 
good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and 
peace shall be with you. So prays your pastor-elect, 

PETER POWERS. 

The land described in the foregoing offer became the 
property of the Rev. Mr. Powers, who occupied it 
till his death. It was afterward the property of Mr. 
Prescott Powers, and a part of it is now in possession of 
Mr. Levi Greenlaw, who occupies the house built for Mr. 
Powers. It is the oldest house now standing in the town. 

A church covenant and confession of faith were drawn 
up and subscribed to by the members of the church, and 
it shows that a large proportion of the adult population 
were members. 

May 18, 1786. It was voted that a tax of one shilling 
on each communicant be paid for support of the Lord's 
table, and that the Sacrament of the supper be on the 
third Sabbaths in March, May, July, September, and 
November. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIME. 277 

October 20, 1791. It was voted that there be a number 
of persons chosen as elders to assist the pastor and church 
in church-watch for one year. At a meeting on the third 
day of November, Deacon Francis Haskell, Deacon Thomas 
Stinson, and brethren James Jordan, Ezekiel Marshall, 
Thomas Small, George Frees, John Frees, and Nathan 
Haskell were chosen. At the same time Messrs. Caleb 
Haskell and Nathan Haskell were chosen deacons. 

January 8, 1793. At a meeting of the church the fol- 
lowing-named persons were chosen as elders : Thomas 
Stinson, Caleb Haskell, Nathan Haskell, Ezekiel Marshall, 
George Freeze, James Jordan, Joshua Haskell, and Thomas 
Thompson. It was also voted that Caleb Haskell should 
assist the pastor in keeping the 'church records. 

Previous to this time there had been difficulties in the 
church respecting the immoral conduct of members, and 
but little satisfaction was obtained from the persons impli- 
cated, after the church had done its duty toward them, 
which shows us that then, even as now, the practice of 
members was not always consistent with their profession. 
Several pages of the records are occupied with the history 
of the dealings of the church toward them, from which we 
incline to the opinion that the church and pastor faith- 
fully performed their duties upon the several occasions. 
We do not deem it advisable to go into a further e.xamina- 
tion of the matter, as it would at this day be productive of 
no good, but would be a cause of sorrow to the descend- 
ants of the persons dealt with. It may serve as an 
admonition to all to endeavor to walk worthily as far as 
we may be able, so as to bring no scandal upon the 
profession. 

November 25, 1794. It was voted that the church 
would not receive anv members to communion from other 



278 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

churches, but such churches as were known to be sound 
in the faith without examination. On the tenth of June, 
1795, it was voted to hold their members bound to attend 
public worship in ordinary cases when there was no 
preaching. At the same time it was voted that this 
church do not allow its members to go to law one with 
another until their case is laid before the church and 
brought to judgment in the church. It was also voted 
to assist in gathering a church in Penobscot, and that 
the Rev. Mr. Powers assist, and Messrs. Joshua Haskell 
and Nathan Haskell were chosen delegates. 

November 22, 1798. At a town meeting it was in con- 
sideration to see if the town would agree upon some suit- 
able method for supplying the town with preaching the 
ensuing winter, as the Rev. Mr. Powers was unable to 
supply the desk through infirmity and sickness. It was 
voted to hire some person for sixteen Sabbaths. A com- 
mittee of three was chosen, which was instructed to apply 
to Mr. Ebenezer Eaton, if he could be obtained for the 
above term, and as reasonably as it could. Messrs. 
Thomas Stinson, Ignatius Haskell, and Edmund Sylvester 
were the members of said committee. 

In April, 1799, at the annual meeting, the sum of $300 
was voted for supplying the pulpit for the ensuing year. 
A committee was chosen for the purpose, to wit : Messrs. 
Thomas Stinson, Joseph Tyler, and Caleb Haskell. At a 
meeting held on the fourth of November, said committee 
was instructed to apply to Mr. Ebenezer Eaton to preach 
through the winter season, unless it could obtain some 
other gentleman who may be as agreeable to the unani- 
mous wish of the people. It was also voted to choose a 
committee of three to wait upon the Rev. Mr. Powers and 
inform him of the wishes of the town, and see if the same 



TOIVA' OF DEER ESLE, M.UNE. 279 

may be agreeable to his desires, and that if Mr. Eaton 
may be obtained, he may minister to the people and be on 
amicable terms with Mr. Powers and not be a means of 
disagreement in the association. The committee were 
Messrs. Joseph Colby, Courtney Babbidge, and Nathan 
Haskell. 

In 1800 the Rev. Mr. Powers died. A notice of him 
has already been given in a former part of this work.. 
From what we can learn he was a faithful minister, and,, 
for those days, liberal in his views and charitable toward 
others whose opinions were not in exact unison with 
his own. 

During the preceding years the place of public worship 
was in the old meeting-house, as it was called, but at what 
time and by whom it was built we have not been able to 
learn. It was standing at the time of the incorporation 
of the town in 1789, as the first town meeting was held 
there. It was used for that purpose for many years, or 
until the one was built which occupied the site of the 
present one. Neither the town nor church records throw 
any light upon the matter, and but very few people now 
among us can remember it. It stood upon the spot now 
occupied by the Town House and was sometimes used as 
a schoolhouse, and for several years it was in contempla- 
tion to build another. At a meeting held on the second 
Monday of May it was voted that a new one be built 
as near the present one as shall be convenient. At 
a meeting held March 16, 1793, the former vote respecting 
the site of the house was reconsidered. It was also voted 
that it should be built on Mr. Ambrose Colby's hill, which 
was the spot occupied by it till its destruction by fire. At 
a town meeting held April 6, 1795, it was voted to con- 
sider some proper method to build the house, and the sum 



2 So ^^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

of one hundred pounds was voted for the purpose and a 
committee of three, to wit, Messrs. Ignatius Haskell, 
Thomas Thompson, and Thomas Small, was chosen to 
expend the above-named sum in providing suitable timber 
and other materials for building. At a meeting held 
October 8th, the same year, the building committee laid a 
plan before it, providing that the dimensions of the house 
should be fifty-four by forty-eight feet, which was accepted, 
and Messrs. Thomas Robbins and Jonathan Eaton were 
added to the committee. As the location formerly agreed 
upon was not satisfactory to some of the people, the mat- 
ter was acted upon, and there was a majority in favor of 
adhering to the vote of March i6, 1793. At the annual 
meeting in March, 1796, it was voted that the committee 
be renewed and empowered to go on with the building. 

In August of the same year it was voted to accept 
the proceedings of the committee procuring the frame 
and raising it. It was also voted to give the frame, as it 
then stood, to any one who had or might subscribe to 
finish the same. The records of the town show us no 
further in the matter. It was built chiefly by Ignatius 
Haskell, Esq. He was the grantor in the deeds by which 
the pews were conveyed to purchasers, one of which is on 
record in the town records, dated April 18, 1803. He 
was a large proprietor. At his death, in 1841, he owned 
several pews. 

After the death of the Rev. Mr. Powers the church had 
no settled pastor for several years, and at a town meeting 
held February 4, 1800, it was voted that the committee 
for supplying the pulpit wait on the Rev. Mr. Page and 
present the thanks of the town for his past services, and 
request that he preach five Sabbaths more, as it seems 
that he had been employed instead of Mr. Eaton. At a 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2S1 

town meeting held on April 6, 1801, it was voted to raise 
money for the support of preaching. It seems that a Mr. 
Johnson had been preaching to them, and in May at 
another meeting, it was voted that the committee should 
apply to him to preach a few Sabbaths more, or until they 
could procure another candidate. At the annual meeting 
held on April 5, 1802, it was voted to give the Rev, Phin- 
eas Randall a call to settle with them in the ministry, and 
a committee was chosen to make out one and to present 
it to him. The committee were Messrs. Caleb, Joshua, 
and Nathan Haskell, and instructions were given them to 
insert in the call an offer to pay $600 for settlement, to be 
paid in two years, and a salary of $330 yearly, with the 
use of the parsonage land as long as he should continue 
to be their minister, in which call the church united. 

At a meeting of the church. May 10, 1802, it was voted 
to follow the rules of discipline laid down by Christ in 
Matthew xviii, 15, 16, and 17, and that they understood 
said passage as expounded by the Apostle Paul in I Co- 
rinthians V, II, namely, to keep no company with the ex- 
communicated persons, so much as to eat at common table 
with them. It was also voted to observe the rules laid 
down in II Thessalonians iii, 14, that if any brother 
refuse to observe the rules as laid down in the sixth 
verse, in not complying with tiie rules of the church, 
to note that brother and keep no company with him. 
According to the record, those votes were unanimous, but 
it seems that at a meeting on the twentieth of October, 
1803, the two votes referred to were recalled. At the 
same meeting it was voted that the church give Rev. 
Joseph Brown a call to settle with them in the ministry. 
The deacons were in.structed to make out a call, (^n 
the thirty-first of the same month the town voted to 



282 ^A' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

give him a call, and to give him a yearly salary of ^400 
while he supplied the pulpit, payable quarterly, namely, 
$100 at the end of every three months. He was also 
to have the use of the parsonage lot during said term, 
to be provided with a comfortable house or part of one 
till the town should build a parsonage house and barn, 
and to defray the charges of bringing his family and 
furniture to the town. Messrs. Thomas Stinson, Caleb 
Haskell, and Nathan Haskell constituted a committee 
for the purpose of waiting upon him and obtaining an 
answer. The committee for the supply of the pulpit 
was to provide a place of residence until a parsonage 
house was built, which was not long after. 

The Rev. Mr. Brown appears to have been earnest and 
industrious in his calling ; but from causes named in the 
sketch noticing him, there seems to have been much dis- 
satisfaction on the part of several members of the church 
— particularly in the southern part of the town — whose 
political views did not correspond with those he advocated, 
as was charged in the pulpit. Upon one occasion one 
of the members of the church was brought before the 
church for " accusing the minister of not preaching the 
gospel," which he acknowledged ; but not showing repent- 
ance for the assertion, he was suspended. Afterward he 
was restored. In 1812 two members, one of whom was 
the person suspended, were excommunicated for signing a 
paper purporting a withdrawal from the church with 
intention to form another society in the town. This was 
the first step taken with a view of the formation of a 
Baptist Church in the town. 

In 18 1 8 Mr. William Stinson was elected a deacon of 
the church, which office he retained till his death, in 1848. 
In 1 8 19 the death of the Rev. Mr. Brown took place, and 
the family removed from the town. 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 283 

After the death of the Rev. Mr. Brown the pulpit 
wa.s supplied by Rev. Abijah Wines for several years. 
The first notice of him, in the records of the church, is 
June 3, 1824, when he, with his wife, was received into 
the church by letters ; but probably he had preached here 
some time before. In 1829 the question of temperance 
began to be agitated, and Mr. Wines took a very 
active part. In November of that year the matter was 
brought up at a meeting of the church, and the obliga- 
tions of members in respect of joining the societies 
organized for the suppression of intemperance. Not long 
after, Mr. Wines's connection with the church as pastor 
was dissolved, as his mind had become impaired in 
consequence of his earnestness in the movement, and he 
removed from town. His death took place not long after. 
He was a man of learning, and we believe at one time a 
professor in the Theological Seminary at Bangor. 

In 1832 Rev. Jonathan Adams, a native of Booth- 
bay, Maine, moved here from the town of Woolwich, 
Maine, and became pastor of the church. He continued 
as such about twenty years, at a salary of four hundred 
dollars and the use of the parsonage farm. In 1838 an 
extensive revival of religion took place, and on August 12 
fifty-seven persons were admitted to the church ; on Sep- 
tember 9 twenty-eight were added, and on November 4 
twenty-seven were added. On November 18 twenty-nine 
also were added — in all, one hundred and forty-one per- 
sons. On February 10, 1839, complaints were made 
against three members for imbibing sentiments different 
from those of the church and for refusing to make appli- 
cation to the church for counsel. Having been cited to 
appear before the church, they did so on the twentieth of 
the same month, and, as their remarks were not satisfac- 



284 '^^"^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

tory to the church, they were suspended for six months. 
They afterward united with the Methodist Church, which 
was organized a few years after. 

In 1852 the Rev. Mr. Adams ceased to be pastor of the 
church, and removed to Boothbay, where he preached for 
some time. Before his death, which took place a few 
years after he removed from that place, we believe he 
resided with his son. Rev. Jonathan E. Adams, now secre- 
tary of the Maine Missionary Society. The year of his 
death is unknown to us. He was an able preacher and 
had many friends here. Of his sons only one now 
remains, the one alluded to above. In 1846 his son Will- 
iam perished at sea on board the brig Lincoln. Two 
others, Captain David E. Adams and Charles Adams, 
were lost at sea together in one vessel, and another — 
Samuel — died at some place in the Western States. The 
first three died several years before their father, and, we 
believe, the latter a few years after them. 

Mr. Adams was succeeded in the pastoral office by 
Rev. William V. Jordan, who did not long remain. After 
him Rev. William A. Merrill supplied the pulpit for a 
few years. During his ministry the present house of 
worship was built and dedicated, in 1858. Mr. Merrill 
afterward removed to North Deer Isle and was the first 
pastor of the church there. He built a house, which is now 
occupied by the family of Mr. George W. Holden. He 
afterward went from here. The last knowledge we had 
of him he resided in the town of Sherman, in the county 
of Aroostook. After Mr. Merrill, Rev. Simeon Waters 
came here from Iowa, and preached a year or more. The 
next person who was pastor of the church was Rev. 
Samuel S. Drake, who preached here till 1867. He also 
was pastor of the church at North Deer Isle about one 
year, and afterward removed to Kittery, Maine. 



TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 285 

In 1868 Rev. Hiram Houston became pastor of the 
church. He had previously preached in Stockton and in 
Orland, and continued as pastor here till 1881. In 18S2 
he had the misfortune to lose his companion, and at 
present is absent from the town. He purchased the house 
and land set off to the Rev. Mr. Drake on execution in 
an action against the parish, and made extensive repairs 
on the house, which was the one occupied by Mr. Brown 
and those who succeeded him as pastors of the church. 
It was built not long after Mr. Brown became pastor. 
The church has now no settled minister, nor do we know 
the number of its members. It was formerly one of the 
largest in point of membership in the county. Since the 
revival mentioned in 1838 there have been two, one in 
1858 and one in 1867, in both of which numerous additions 
were made to the church. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 

Allusion has been made to the dissatisfaction felt 
toward the Rev. Mr. Brown. As a result many members 
left the Congregational Church, and some time not far 
from the year 181 3 a Baptist Church was organized, a 
branch of which extended to Isle au Haut. We think 
that Rev. Samuel Allen was its first pastor, or became so 
shortly after its establishment. There was at one time 
not long after a revival, and an addition was made to its 
members. We have no records of the church, nor do we 
know of any, nor in whose custody they may be, if any 
there are. Mr. Allen preached several years, both here 
and at Isle au Haut ; but dissatisfaction was felt toward 
him on moral grounds, which was, if any cause really 
existed, in part due to exaggeration, as is usual in such 
cases. While he was pastor quite an extensive reforma- 



2 86 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

tion took place, and many became church members. After 
some years his connection as pastor was dissolved, and he 
ceased to preach. A Mr. Bedell preached for some time, 
principally on Isle au Haut, and after him, Elder Samuel 
Macomber. As the church and society were small, a suffi- 
cient support could not be procured for the preacher, and 
for several years there was no preaching, except occa- 
sionally, until about 1844, when Rev. Leonard Mayo 
became the pastor. He was pastor for some two or three 
years, when he removed from this town. At the last 
accounts he was residing in the town of Hodgdon, in 
Aroostook County. The deacons of the church were 
Messrs. Stephen Babbidge, Jr. and Thomas Stinson. A 
house of worship was commenced but not finished, which 
stood near the site of the present Methodist Church. 
Some years after a house of worship was built on Bab- 
bidge's Neck, a large proportion of the cost of which was 
borne by the late Samuel Whitmore, Esq. Occasionally 
the pulpit is supplied, but at present the church has 
few members. 

METHODIST CHURCH. 

The Methodist Society and Church were established in 
1842. That year Rev. Hezekiah C. Tilton, an energetic 
young man, was sent here by the Methodist Conference, 
and he soon succeeded in establishing a church, which was 
joined by many persons the first year, as considerable 
interest was manifested. The building occupied by the 
Baptist Church was occupied by them until 1843, or 1844. 
when the Methodist Meeting-house was built. Mr. Tilton 
remained till 1844, when he was succeeded by Rev. 
Charles Andrews, who made a favorable impression while 
here. After him came Rev. E. H. Small, another very 



TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 28/ 

worthy man, who made many friends while here. He 
resided here in 1845 and 1846 and, we think, in 1847, 
After his removal he preached in other places until, 
through infirmity, he became unable to preach, except 
occasionally. For several of the latter years of his life he 
resided in Winterport. Some years after a house was 
built for the use of the ministers, standing near the house 
of the late Mr. Lemuel Small. The society and church 
have retrograded, as not mucli int<?rest has been taken for 
a few years, and the house of worship bears marks of 
dilapidation. 

CHURCH AT NORTH DEER ISLE. 

Not far from the year 1858 a Congregational Church 
was established at North Deer Isle, as the members of 
that church found it inconvenient to go to the church at 
Northwest Harbor on account of the distance. A house 
of worship was built and dedicated, and in our notice of 
Mr. Merrill it was stated that he was the first pastor. In 
that of Mr. Drake, that he also was for a year or more 
pastor there, but as the society is small it is unable to 
support preaching. There has been some assistance from 
the Maine Missionary Society. A Mr. Closson preached 
there, sent by it, and later a Rev. I\Ir. Hart, but at jDresent 
there is no preaching there. 

FREE-WILL li.M'TIST CHURCH. 

At West Deer Isle a church of that denomination was 
established a few years since, but the society is small and 
unable to support preaching. A house of worship has 
been built, and most of the time Mr. Lafayette Collins, a 
lay preacher, has supplied the pulpit. At present the 
society and church are in a low condition, as no interest is 
manifested except by very few. 



288 -4iV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

There are no other religious societies in the town, and 
occasionally preachers of the denomination known as 
" Adventists " have preached here, more particularly in 
that part of the town known as Stinson's Neck. A few 
years ago there were a number of persons who seemed to 
adhere to their principles, but at this time little or noth- 
ing is heard respecting that faith. There are at present 
five houses of worship, which have been dedicated to the 
service of God, but at this time in but two of them is there 
public worship maintained, to wit, at the church at the 
Northwest Harbor, occupied by the first Congregational 
Society and the Methodist House at South Deer Isle. 
There is a house of worship in process of erection at 
Green's Landing, but in all probability it will be a Union 
Church, as no one denomination in that vicinity is able 
to support preaching. At the present time (1884) Rev. 
Charles H. Gates officiates at the Congregational Church 
and Rev. Israel Hathaway at the Methodist Church. 



ORIGIN OF THE NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT LOCALITIES IN 
THE TOWN. 

It may be of interest to the reader to know how the 
different parts of the town came by the names assigned 
to them, — as we all know the different parts by the 
names which have been given them, — but very few have 
knowledge how they came by them. On Little Deer 
Island there is a very convenient and safe harbor on the 
southwestern side known as Swain's Cove, and the farm of 
the late Daniel Billings, Esq. adjoins it. It was so named 
from Captain William Swain, whom we have noticed as an 
early occupant of the land in its vicinity. On Great 
Deer Island, about one mile south of its northern 



TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 289 

extremity, the harbor known as Thompson's Cove derived 
its name from Mr. Thomas Thompson, who was the 
owner of the lands adjoining, and lived near it. 

The tract of land known as Campbell's Neck and the 
island near by, known as Campbell's Island, derived their 
names from Mr. John Campbell, who was their owner, 
with other lands in the vicinity, and who resided where 
the present Mr. Samuel W. Campbell, his grandson, 
now lives. 

The island known as York's Island was named from 
Captain Benjamin York, its first settler and owner. The 
island known as Conary's Island was named from Mr. 
Thomas Conary, whom we have noticed, and who resided 
upon it. 

The cove or the creek known as Fish Creek derived 
its name from the abundance of fish of the herring 
species which were taken in weirs by the early settlers 
in the vicinity. 

The island know as Gibson's Island was named from 
Mr. James Gibson, whom we have noticed as a soldier in 
the war of the Revolution, who made the island his resi- 
dence for some time. 

The part of the town known as Greenlaw's Neck was 
probably named from Mr. William Greenlaw, who was an 
early settler in that vicinity ; but we have no knowledge 
of his ever having resided ujion the Neck, which we 
think was first settled by Mr. Nathaniel Bray. 

That part of the town known as Stinson's Neck was 
named from its first settler, of whom mention has often 
been made — Thomas Stinson, Esq. Several of his 
descendants now reside there. That part of the island 
from Camiibell's Neck to the steamboat-landing is known 
as the Reach shore, as it borders on the passage known as 



290 



J.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Eggemoggin Reach, which lies between it and the towns 
of Sedgwick and BrookHn. 

The land known as Babbidge's Neck was named from 
Mr. William Babbidge, who settled upon the southern 
part, but was not the first person who lived there. The 
earliest was Mr. Seth Webb, who lived upon the land 
afterward occupied by Mr. Joseph Whitmore. 

That body of water known as Webb's Cove was named 
from Mr. Webb, before mentioned, who lived near it after 
he left the Neck. 

The tract of land lying between Webb's Cove and 
Burnt Cove was for many years known as the " Burnt 
land," and the origin of the name, as we have been 
informed, was derived from its having been burnt over by 
a fire set by Mr. Joseph Colby, the early settler of that 
name. When he came the trees standing upon the tract 
had been blown down during a violent gale of wind. 
It was said that not many years before a fire had been set 
by some person who landed during a very dry time upon 
the shore, and, as it was not extinguished, it spread, and, 
remaining in the soil, weakened the hold of the roots of 
the trees as it spread so as to render them liable to be 
blown down. As Mr. Colby was obliged to turn his cattle 
into the woods for pasturage, the trees were so entangled 
that it was v-ery difficult for him to find them to drive 
home, and he set the fire for the purpose of clearing the 
obstructions. It spread over all the surface between the 
limits as before named, but since that time a large amount 
of wood and timber has grown upon it. That locality is 
now known as Green's Landing, named from Sullivan 
Green, Esq., the oldest resident now there. 

The island now known as Thurlovv's Island was named 
from the late Captain David Thurlow, who resided there 
sixty years or more before his death, in 1857. 



TOIFJV OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 



291 



The harbor known as Allen's Cove was named from 
Rev. Samuel Allen, who resided near it for many years. 

The harbor known as Burnt Cove derived its name 
from the fire before named. The late Mr. Avery Fifield 
resided near it for many years prior to his death, and was 
for some time the only settler there. 

The harbor known as Crockett's Cove derived its name 
from Mr. Josiah Crockett, who has been mentioned. He 
was for many years a resident there. 

Small's Cove was named from the two brothers of that 
name who settled near it. Mr. Thomas Small lived on 
the northern, and Mr. Job Small on the southern, side. 

The point known as Dunham's Point, the western 
extremity of the island, — where mining operations have 
been made to a considerable extent, — was named from 
Mr. Elijah Dunham, its earliest settler. The point of 
land on the southwestern side of the entrance to the 
Northwest Harbor is known as Pressey's Point, named 
from Mr. John Pressey, the earliest settler, who lived near 
it. Dow's Point, on the northeastern entrance, was 
named from Mr. Nathan Dow, who settled there in 1767. 

In the town of Isle au Haut, the island known as Mer- 
chant's Island was named from Mr. Anthony Merchant, 
the first settler in that town. He resided upon it till his 
death. 

Kimball Island was named from Mr. Solomon Kimball, 
who was the purchaser from the State of Massachusetts. 
He occupied it after the removal of the family of Mr. 
Seth Webb, who died in 1785. 

Cutter's Island, or, as it is now known. Fog Island, 
was named from a person by the name of Cutter, who 
lived upon it for many years. 

The harbor known as Dougflass's Cove was named from 



292 



AN HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



Mr. Robert Douglass, who settled near it and occupied it 
till he went from thence to Nauvoo, in the State of 
Illinois, as a convert to Mormonism. 

Head Harbor was named from the Eastern Head, 
the southeastern extremity of the island.^ 1 1 have, in 
the description of the mode of " duck driving,"|stated the 
origin of the na;me given to Duck Harbor. 

Moore's Harbor, on the western side of the island, was 
so named from Captain John Moore, one of the early- 
settlers of the town of Castine, whose business in part 
was fishing in a small vessel in that vicinity and who 
frequently made that harbor an anchoring-place. 



CONCLUSION. 



I have now finished this work, and I think I have 
recorded everything of consequence, that has come to my 
knowledge, which has transpired here. It has taken a 
wider range than was anticipated when I commenced it, 
and, from the causes named in the commencement, it can 
not be expected to be in all instances exactly correct ; but 
I have given the reader the information I have received. 
I hope it may be of interest to us who are now here and 
those whose birthplace was in this town, but who are not 
now residents. Here have I passed the active part of my 
life, and increasing years admonish me that I must soon 
follow those who have gone before. To my fellow-citizens 
of the town who have so many times bestowed upon me 
marks of their confidence, I tender my sincere thanks, 
and to them I dedicate this work. 




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